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APP 18 1995
rO GIVIL ENGINEERING ANI
TING & McGRAW-HILL COMPA
April 16,1925 .
Plugging a High-Pressure
Service Tunnel
Difficult divers’ work in tunnel 8o feet
below ground was one of the essential
operations of connecting new Buffalo, N.Y.,
filter plant to city’s distribution system.
/Z
Experience with Wood
Grating in Filters
What Sacramento, Calif., can recommend
from a year's comparison of wood-grating
underdrains with perforated-pipe laterals
for its two groups of rapid sand filters,
Garza Dam for Dallas
Water-Works
Hydraulic-fill dam will store 63 billion
gallons for the water supply of Dallas,
Texas. Cost of project covered by a
$5,000,000 bond issue voted during 1923.
Dam Floods Danville
Water-Works
Hydroelectric dam on Dix River inun-
dated Kentucky citys pumping plant
and filter. New pumping station must
meet 7o-foot variation in level of river.
Every: Day Water-W orks Problems Solved
Twelve pages of short articles on construction, maintenance and
operation of plants, and methods in treatment and filtration
of supplies. These articles cover as many states as there
are articles and represent primarily waterworks
practice in small municipalities.
WATER-WORKS NUMBER
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Market—ENGINEERING
—and for
waterworks roofs...
So general has the use of Federal Cement
Tile become that every industry and every
type of public building includes several
important installations. It has found favor
with officials everywhere for waterworks
roofs.
The two photographs reproduced here
show a characteristic waterworks instal-
lation. There are many such; some
larger, some smaller, but all on water-
works structures where invariably it is
immediately apparant that the effort
throughout was to procure the best of
materials.
NEWS-RECOR D—Paace Vol. 94, No. 16
Detroit Water Works, Detroit. Mich. Coal Storage
roofed with Federal precast channel slabs
Federal Cement Tile are made for all
Hat and pitched surfaces in four styles:
Interlocking, Glass Insert, Channel and
Flat Slabs. Strict supervision of manu-
facture in a modern daylight plant and
the use of high-grade materials insure
uniformity. Scientific design and proper
steel reinforcement impart ample strength
and durability. Made, laid and guaran-
teed by
FEDERAL CEMENT TILE COMPANY
608 8. Dearborn Street
CHICAGO
FEDERAL
Cement ‘Tile
The Roof} jor Permanence”
ing.
Interior view
Detroit Wate
age. Note that
Federal channe
roof slabs also
serve as the ce:
ENR4-161-RT
— **
Game
\
A Consolidation of Engineering News, Engineering Record and The Contractor
NEWS-RECORD
McGraw-Hill Company, Inc.
James H. McGrRAW, President
E. J. MEHREN, Vice-President
DEVOTED TO CIVIL ENGINEERING
AND CONTRACTING
Volume 4 NEW YORK, APRIL 16, 1925
Number 16
Small Town Water-works
HE articles selected in recognition of this year’s
annual convention of the American Water Works
Association relate chiefly to the problems of water-
works in what for convenience may be called “small
towns.” These problems are many, varied and in-
teresting, and they require engineering ability of no
small kind, especially in view of ofttimes limited financial
resources and the frequent need of adapting improve-
ments to a conglomeration of plant too costly to be dis-
carded entire if even in part. This the articles attest.
Manual of Water-Works Practice
INCE the American Water Works Association has
got down to substantial work between conventions,
its annual meetings have improved and the water-works
fraternity is being better served. The Louisville con-
vention, during the week beginning April 27, will visual-
ize a large part of the efforts of its Standardization
Council in bringing out a Manual of Water-Works
Practice. Material is available for more than 600 pages
representing 80 per cent of the text on the seventy-five
topics which the Standardization Council outlined as
necessary to treat. Not the last word has been said
by the numerous workers on the various subjects, and
on many of them changes will be brought out by discus-
sions at the convention. If nothing else were on the
program but discussions of these best-practice chapters
of the manual, water-works operators would find the
convention worth attending.
Industrial Co-operation
APITAL and labor got together in the first of the
projected series of “Industrial Round Tables” in
New York last week. The Secretary of Commerce, the
president of the American Federation of Labor and
the president of the General Electric Co. spoke, and
these representatives of the public, labor and capital,
respectively, voiced one sentiment—that co-operative
effort must be made to reduce that greatest of national
wastes, the once-called irrepressible conflict between
employer and employed. This is no new sentiment;
it has appeared from time to time ever since labor
learned that it had rights and capital realized that it
had responsibilities. But there were indications in
this latest meeting that something real would be ac-
complished by these meetings. Mr. Hoover voiced this
something in his introduction, when he made again his
familiar plea for a self-correction of the ills of indus-
try. Government, in the Secretary’s philosophy, can
do little to straighten out business ills, except to pro-
vide means for those who might correct those ills to
come together. Co-operation is a hackneyed word, per-
haps, but Mr. Hoover has made it live and workable,
and he proposes here that its force should be applied
to those industrial troubles which reach back to the
wilfulness or selfishness of either of the two great
elements in industry, capital and labor. And the re-
marks of both Mr. Green and Mr. Swope rang true.
Neither seemed to be speaking for effect, as too often
such leaders speak. They both know, and their words
and manner showed it, that to forge ahead or even to
keep the pace, American industry must recognize the
mutuality of all of its interests and discuss,- and settle,
its problems on the basis of that mutuality. One meet-
ing does not make a program or settle a problem, but
this first one is promising of welcome results.
Legislative Road Maps
LESSON to state legislatures on highway location
practices is repeated again this year by Governoi
Smith of New York in passing on new legislation in-
creasing the state road system by some 2,400 miles.
Designating the bill as being “as near to a perfect
plan as we can possibly get under our existing system”
the Governor approves the act and says: “Laying out
highway routes I do not believe to be a legislative func-
tion. It is an engineering problem and while it re-
mains a legislative one we will never be able to resist
the temptation to lay out new routes as the result of
log-rolling projects in the legislature not strictly des-
tined to improve the state highway system but rather
to promote the interests of some localities.” So rarely
has a state chief executive visioned highway system
location as clearly as has the governor of New York
that his remarks stand out among the official utterances
on highway administration of this very active year in
road legislation.
Unprofitable Waterways
NLAND waterways advocates will find little consola-
tion in the forthcoming report of the Board of Engi-
neers for Rivers and Harbors on the proposed Lake
Erie-Ohio River canal. Colonel Kutz, in a preliminary
announcement extracted elsewhere in this issue, states
that while all three of the proposed routes are feasible
from an engineering point of view, they are not eco-
nomically desirable, that on two of the routes the fixed
charges would greatly exceed the prospective benefits
and that the third route when operated to capacity
would yield benefits approximately equal to the fixed
charges with the present inequalities in competitive
freight rates, but that with those inequalities removed,
as it is reasonable to expect they will be, the third route
also would be economically inadvisable. This cold drench
of elemental! fact will not be welcome to our waterways
dreamers. They do not or will not understand that
the cost of the long distance haul is a relatively small
»part of the. cost of handling freight and that time and
certainty of delivery have a much higher value than
627
FrRaANK C. WIGHT
Editor
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628 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, \.. 16
they did in the days when canal and river traffic flour- narily they are not critical, since no previous tr: \}J.
ished in this country. They may not yet be convinced
‘that these conditions are applicable to the canal which
they have been advocating for years between the Ohio
and Lake Erie, but it is fortunate that Congress, when-
ever it comes to consider appropriating money for this
canal, will have definite figures placed before it.
Road Form Precision
ORMS for concrete road construction are being more
precisely specified by highway engineers. This fact
should be regarded well by contractors—it is the final
fraction in precision that costs high in setting road
forms. This fraction, too, is getting to be mighty small.
In the last revision of the form specification of an im-
portant road-building state the allowable deviation in
line and level of any 10-ft. section of form top is x in.
And “the engineer may require the contractor to oper-
ate finishing machine and subgrader over forms prior
to starting of construction that they may be inspected
to determine whether the same will remain true to line
and grade during construction.” In brief it is required
not only that forms shall be built to very precise line
and grade but that they shall remain exact under the
rather strenuous duty of being a track for finishers
and subgraders. And in these same specifications the
track rail may not have “been in use on more than
ten miles of roadway on other projects.” This limita-
tion on the working life of forms needs also to be noted
by the contractor in making his bids. In urging notice
by contractors of the effect on costs of more exacting
road form specifications no criticism is implied. If true
road surfaces are essential then exact form setting and
maintenance are required. As everywhere in construc-
tion, however, greater perfection brings greater costs
and contractors cannot afford to overlook the fact.
Unexplored Conditions
OMETHING of a mystery presents itself in the case
of the Oklahoma oil tank failure, described on p.
638. A large tank ruptured and its contents burned,
the fire spreading over a large area and threatening
many other tanks but fortunately wrecking only one
besides the tank of origin. Apparently the known facts
as to the causation of the fire are that the contents of
the first tank burned and that the tank ruptured, the
two events occurring either simultaneously or one be-
fore the other—no one knows which. Thus the cause
is a mystery. Commonly, mystery implies ignorance,
and in the present case some of the elements essentially
involved in the case are matters about which we know
little. One of them is the effect of a large change of
temperature occurring very suddenly, as happened in
the period immediately preceding the accident. We
know that a 60-deg. drop in temperature produces a
deformation corresponding to a stress of 10,000 lb. per
sq.in. and we can reason that if shell and bottom of
tank differ in temperature by 60 deg. a set of forces
corresponding to a tension of 10,000 lb. per sq.in. in a
small ring along the base of the tank shell will have to
be taken up somehow in the form of complex reactions
between shell and base. But we do not know much
about the resulting stresses. Apparently the stress con-
ditions are not susceptible of analysis ’or other than
the roughest kind of estimate. -We may infer that ordi-
due to differential expansion or shrinkage of this king
has been reported. But it is quite possible that «he,
can become critical in some cases, and they ma» by»
large in all cases, at least large enough to warran
investigation. The mechanical condition of the tank
again represents unusual and unexplored condit..\ys:-
The combination of welding and riveting, especial): th.
welded connection between base of shell and the curb
angle around the tank bottom. Such welded connec.
tions, and more particularly combinations of welded anq
riveted construction, are relatively few, and experience
with them is limited. It is not known how they wi]
behave under all sets of conditions. Thus, it may he
that the welded base connection was subjected to ab.
normal service by the tendency to distortion that arose
from the temperature drop preceding the accident. The
part played by such possible factors in the Ponca City
tank failure is likely to remain obscure until experiment
and experience improve our knowledge concerning the
strength of steel tanks.
Lessons from Weeping Water and Chicago
ERHAPS superintendent who deliberately
wrecks a water-works filtration plant because he is
lazy and competent, is less rare than the one who is
energetic but incompetent. Into the former class, seems
to fall the individual who ran the little plant at Weep-
ing Water, Neb., described elsewhere in this issue.
No one but a clever genius would think of rearranging
the piping to reverse the direction of filtration, punch
holes in the strainers to reduce the head, replace the
sand by coarser material and consign the coagulant
apparatus to the junk pile. To make these chanye:
required effort, so he may have been more well-inten-
tioned than an off-hand opinion would indicate in his
endeavor to make the plant work without attention.
Before condemning people as indolent it should be
remembered that the automatic shifting of steam en-
gine valves was first done by a lazy boy who tired of
doing it by hand. Perhaps the Weeping Water super-
intendent felt he had fallen on a boon to operators in
his attempt to make an upward flow filter, one that
would run continuously without washing; but such at-
tempts, like revolutions, must be successful to be justi-
fied. Unfortunately for the Nebraska “inventor” his
scheme was a failure, and some one happened along who
saw that influent and effiuent were equally turbid. The
washing problem: that irked the operator had been
solved at the sacrifice of the main result, and the citizens
had to pay for and consume the unsavory product.
As has been said so often in these columns, science—
represented here by the filter plant—applied without
knowledge too often gives the people a false sense of
security. No doubt the local officials continually boasted
of their filter plant as affording full protection from
water-borne diseases,
In a large city, where so many lives are in jeopardy,
competent operation under the watchful eye of the best
scientific talent is even more essential than in a small
one. Only last year Chicago learned boasting of the
purity of its water supply at the intake cribs did not
mean a safe supply at the tap. ‘Passage of water
through a leaky tunnel system beneath city honey-
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 629
April 16, 1925
ec.abed with underground conduits resulted in a bac-
terial content higher than that of the original lake
rater.
a is not the intention to intimate that the Weeping
Water superintendent has a counterpart of incompe-
tency in Chicago, but to point out that scientific investi-
gators can and do find weak points in a system;
weaknesses that come about from changing conditions.
So long as Weeping Water got its supply from wells it
was safe. Until Chicago, to meet the exorbitant de-
mands of an unmetered consumption, got to pulling
down the water levels at the pumping station ends of
its lake tunnels and the areas surrounding the nu-
merous land shafts became congested, the groundwater
head of water surrounding the land shafts and tunnels
was low and seepage was insignificant. Now the pollu-
tion is so serious that to counteract it as much as may
be the limit of chlorine dosage of the water before it
enters the cast-iron pressure system has nearly been
reached. Long ago the chlorine taste limit was passed.
So serious is the difficulty that for the first time filtra-
tion has been publicly advocated by John Ericson, city
engineer.
Both Weeping Water, the town of a thousand, and
Chicago, the city of three million, have had lessons as
to the danger of incompetent supervision of a water fil-
ter and of lack of sanitary supervision and delay in
providing filtration when changing conditions demand
it. Such lessons may well be heeded not only by those
cities but also by towns and cities small and large the
coumtry over.
What Is a Water-works Man
HE ten thousand water-works of the United States
and Canada present a number and variety of prob-
lems in design, choice of material, construction, as well
as in physical, chemical, bacterial, financial and other
phases of operating control, that would make a sur-
prising category if assembled. Put alongside this cate-
gory an outline of the relationship of our water-works
to manufacturing and other industrial processes, to the
safety of homes, protection of offices, shops and fac-
tories against fire, to the comfort, convenience, health
and life of some scores of millions of human beings and
the exhibit would be still more surprising and sig-
nificant. A hamlet too small to have a public water
supply is handicapped by that lack and the watered
town or city would be crippled in a few hours, decimated
in a few days and depopulated in a few weeks if the
water supply were cut off with no certainty of speedy
restoration.
Who designs, builds and runs the water-works of
the country? Many of the smailer ones, and even
those of considerable size built in the earlier days, never
were designed, as the term is and should be understood.
They were built more or less haphazard, or if not they
have been extended in that fashion. Today, a large
percentage of even the small plants and plant exten-
sions are put in the hands of more or ‘ess competent
engineers and the percentage is increasing. For the
larger works and major extensions most of our city
fathers have recognized the necessity of engineering
service, either temporary or permanent, from the start,
Today, for water-works large and small, there are many
more engineers engaged on water-works large. and
small, there are many more engineers engaged on water-
works design and construction than in any other branch
of municipal work. As for water-works construction,
the works or extensions having been designed, the engi-
neer is more and more in evidence.
Contractors and manufacturers have always played
a large part in water-works design, either for entire
plants or their important elements. This was particu-
larly true for works in the earlier days, even in places
of considerable size, and notably for pumps, filters and,
in many of the smaller places, for pipe systems even
if not for the entire plant. Much of this designing
was well done, even though it did go far towards
eliminating competition. In construction it was but
natural and as a rule desirable that contractors should
build original works and major extensions.
Once built, and taking numbers rather than size into
account, by far the larger number of the water-works
of the country have been and still are operated by men
without engineering education or experience. Happily
this, too, is rapidly changing, for whereas thirty years
ago only a part of the large cities of the countries
and a few progressive small ones employed engineers
as superintendents and managers, today hundreds of
cities and private companies do so, while numerous
cities have a good-sized staff of civil and sanitary engi-
neers regularly employed. With these may be men-
tioned the small army of chemists and bacterioiogists
that could be assembled from the water-works plants of
the United States and Canada.
Since the advent of the city manager, the water-
works of scores of smaller places have had the benefit
of more engineering management than before, either
from the managers who are engineers or because of
the building up of better technical staffs under the city
managers than existed under the old decentralized hap-
hazard administration.
What is the job of the water-works man in building
or operating works? First of all, he must see that a
given city has water from a source that is safe and can
be made safe by treatment carefully chosen to meet
local conditions. He must see that the supply is always
ample in volume and pressure, and above all free from
danger of infection, which means safeguards in design,
sound construction, never failing supervision, and swift
emergency repairs. Whether it be the engineer or some
other official, someone must look after a hundred wants
and caprices of individual consumers. Someone must
provide sound financial control. Essentially the job is
an engineering job and as such it can best be done by
an engineer, if not as chief administrator, in the larger
places, then at least as bureau head.
But whether engineer or not, the waterworks man
will be benefited by the contact he gets from member-
ship in the waterworks associations. Constantly for
half a century. our two major associations have been
contributing to the progress of water-works design,
construction and operation. They deserve better sup-
port than they have received from the municipalities
and private water companies of the United States and
Canada. Even the larger of the associations has but
2,200 members—small when it is remembered that there
are ten thousand or more water-works which should
have from one to a hundred representatives in one or
the other association. Those that belong and take active
part can handle better their job as water-works men.
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630 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 16
Garza Dam for Dallas Water-Works Will Impound
63 Billion Gallons
Hydraulic Fill Utilizing Floating Equipment Dredging in Sand, Gravel and Clay Layers Carefully
Prospected—Puddle Core Trenches with Steel Sheetpiles—Double Set of Spillways
ALLAS, Tex., has now under construction a
hydraulic-fill dam across the Elm Fork of Trinity
River, near the town of Garza, 26 miles northwest of
the city. A reservoir of 63 billion gallons capacity
will be formed to store water for municipal purposes
only. A bond issue of $5,000,000 was voted in April,
1923, for the construction of the project. The reservoir
has a drainage area of a little more than 1,100 square
miles over which the average annual rainfall is 35 in.
Features of this work are the choice of site, decision
to utilize a less favorable material near at hand, mixing
of sand, gravel and clay or gumbo layers, after diligent
prospecting by an elaborate system of borings, core
trenches with a single row of steel sheetpiles encased jp
puddle, and two spillways, one of concrete for reyular
service and a second for emergency use in a low ridge.
The water-works system of Dallas, which now serves
a population of 225,000, together with numerous manv-
facturing industries, has a total storage of about 7
billion gallons impounded in five reservoirs, the largest
of which has a capacity of about 5.5 billion gallons
The Garza reservoir will make available about ten times
the present storage and should serve from three to five
times the present population, with allowance for in-
gravel roadway
grave/
500 | Wand chay ~~f2" rock riprap
Selected ted material’ 4 \e*Gravel blanket
asol. ‘Note:Original ground to be Core trench
|. Chared of a// tation and Steel A
| Furrows p/ 6” deep on (Omit piling south of river)
| S’certers parralle! to center
of line of alam
Typical Section of Dam
/ service
ifs \ tes hs Begining of
wise & ( | earthwork
WS
Scale in Feet
1000 1500
Pian
— core gravi
Section
Top of stee/ sheet pili
Apron El. 4570 Bottom of core
A £1447
Profile
Looking Upstream
100 36
FIG. 1—GARZA RESERVOIR HYDRAULIC-FILL DAM, GENERAL PLAN AND PROFILE
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April 16, 1925
53
ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 631
FIG. 2—THE DREDGE ITS WAY
ETTER MATERIA
Launching pit right. The floating line
is the waterproof electric cable.
creased consumption due to additional industries and
normal increase in domestic per capita consumption.
The Garza dam site lies in the Woodbine beds of the
Lower Cretaceous, which are composed of alternating
irregular beds of sands, shale and sandstones. In
general this formation, on account of its permeability,
is not well adapted to the economic construction of
dams and as a consequence the total cost of this dam
in particular will be considerably greater than is ordi-
narily the case for more regularly stratified geological
sites in the vicinity of Dallas as conforming, more
nearly than any other site, to the prescribed specifica-
tions, which were that the reservoir must impound in
excess of 50 billion gallons, and cost not to exceed the
proceeds of the sale of the bond issue.
Preliminary drillings at the dam site disclosed a
fairly uniform foundation of shale at reasonable depth
to which core trenches could be excavated, and subse-
quently be filled with puddled clay or interlocking steel
sheetpiling. The floor of the valley above the dam site
is quite uniformly overlaid with an alluvial clay blanket
from 5 to 20 ft. thick.
The clay blanket, however, overlies sand and gravel
deposits of varying thickness which, it was decided,
would form, with the clay, a mixture suitable for
hydraulic filling and hence this class of dam embank-
ment was prescribed. An electrically-operated suction
dredge was installed, having a capacity of about 250,000
cu.yd. per month. The 20-in. dredge pump is directly
connected to a 1,600-hp. 2,300-volt alternating-current
motor and discharges through a 20-in. pipe on to the
dam. A total of 2,000,000 cu.yd. of embankment will
be placed by this dredge.
Material—A strip of ground lying upstream from
the dam and adjoining the 300-ft. berm to be left at the
upstream toe was investigated for a borrow pit for the
hydraulic fill. This strip is about 2,000 ft. wide, par-
allel to the river channel, and is about 6,000 ft. long
formations. However, the site selected was chosen
after detailed examinations of eighteen other possible across the valley. The borings over this area were
l2" gravel
Gate and machinery house---- high
op of am £1. 540.0 Tike siope drains about 300" centers to toe of dam
Above S25 riprap /2" thick _ < ty “6” sewer pipe, intet and outlet to be grouted paving
Spillw crest E/ 5c 250 ,
2
“ora loP® Sana gravel >
2" and thay Limitsof™ \ Material laced
/clay core by the .Jocontform fo 4:kslope
3:1 Gravel blanket selected fill process
fort to 6"Dipe left to Finish pouring plugs-
Sh Rertition wail 460.0 Direction of flow F1\4580
Gare valves, fittings and to be placed after ‘Valve At | a
| Flood nazare’ is pas 4 are valves, and 2~ /8” chambe pipe ains> le
Le gate valves. 4 s 48"C pipe ana / line 18"C Lpipe) rave/l
Section B-B
During _time of placing gate valves and plugs
sudden ma be led by the hid
stop logs placed at inlet to conduits
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Collars? of slope paving --~
> 2 Plan of Conduits
crest
Construction £i yAspha/t filled
Jonts-- <4
Section of Conduits
FIG. 3—CONDUITS FOR CONSTRUCTION OUTLETS AND FUTURE CONTROL, AND SECTION OF SERVICE SPILLWAY
+
“Gravel drains?
/ construction
every 30' to $0"
““Note: 7unne/ s/opes
2%: | slope~ end of spi//way
£/ 470.38 ‘These two drains
14:1 slope “Bottom of end connected every 50’
pi
Blue 563" A: Note: foundation of spillway wi/l
shale |. 14 be bive shale and sand stone
tile drains land in gravel sloped / per cent
from center to pipes through paving at ends
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632 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, 16
made by hand with an 8-in. post-hole auger and the
holes were spaced approximately 400 ft. each way.
Where loose sand or gravel that would cave was struck
the holes were cased with 6-in. pipe and cleaned out
with a 4-in. sand bucket down to the shale or sandstone.
The investigation showed that of 9,000,000 cu.yd.
of material available above the rock in this area more
than half of it is undesirable for hydraulic-fill con-
struction because it is clay containing only a small
amount of very fine sand and no gravel. This large
body of undesirable material is about in the middle of
the valley along the river channel.
On each edge of the valley there is a considerable
body of material overlying the rock from 15 to 25 ft.
deep running from 25 per cent sand and gravel and
75 per cent gumbo and clay to 100 per cent sand
and gravel. The most of this more favorable material
is located on the south edge of the valley and is very
similar to the material used for the storage dam at
Wichita Falls (see Engineering News-Record, Dec. 20,
1923, p. 1004). There is enough of this latter material
to build the entire dam but it would require an average
pipe line length of about 4,000 ft. and a maximum of
more than 6,000 ft. This length would require a booster
and would otherwise restrict the output of the dredge
and add to the cost. |
The less favorable material can be placed on the dam
with an average pipe line about 2,500 ft. long, and it
seemed worth while to give this material a thorough
trial. It usually runs from 2 to 5 ft. thick of black
gumbo on top of a very tough brown clay underlaid by
sand and gravel. This gumbo and clay is hard to cut but
reaches the fill in balls ranging in size from 4 in. to
10 in. in diameter. Even where there is no gravel
mixed with these balls they make a surprisingly com-
pact fill, A man can walk over this fill to within a
few feet of the core pool while it is being pumped in,
but in order to get on to it to build up the outside
levees with a crawler-tractor-operated dragline it is
necessary to use mats, which is not the case with a
gravel or sand fill.
All of this clay contains considerable very fine sand
but the pumping has not proceeded far enough yet to
say what percentage of it is going to be lost through
the core pool. It is evident, however, that there will
be considerable surplus core material if a large percent-
age of this clay and gumbo is used.
Embankment—The total length of the dam is two
miles and the maximum height will be 80 ft. The
upstream slope will be 3 to 1, and the downstream slope
also 3 to 1, but modified to admit of two 8-ft. berms
being placed 20 and 50 ft., respectively, below the top
of the dam. A top width of 30 ft. will provide room
for a graveled highway. A freeboard of 15 ft. is pro-
vided between the top of the dam and spillway crest.
The upper slope will be protected throughout with 18
in. of limestone from Stringtown, Okla., hand laid on
8 in. of gravel.
Across the main valley of the river for a distance of
3,500 ft. a core trench, having a bottom width of 12 ft.
with side slopes of 1 to 1 and varying from 25 to 30 ft.
deep, has been excavated to ground-water level, in which
a single line of interlocking steel sheetpiles weighing
35 lb. per square foot has been driven to the under-
lying shale. The piling extends up into the trench a
minimum distance of 6 ft. and will be encased in the
clay puddle core pumped in by the dredge. A ‘ota!
of 121,925 sq.ft. (2,134 tons) of piling varying in |)» yt)
from 14 to 45 ft. has been driven.
All core trenches were excavated with a draw line.
electrically operated, having a 5-cu.yd. bucket and
100-ft. boom.
For the control of flood water during the cons: ruc.
“4
FIG. 4—BEGINNING THE HYDRAULIC FILL BETWEEN THE
WALLS PLACED BY TEAMS
The embankment on each toe was placed from the core
trench and conduit excavations and wet down.
tion period, concrete conduits are being installed in the
river bank immediately south of the channel, of a total
length of 465 ft., including inlet and outlet, and con-
sisting of two oval-shaped barrels having a major
(vertical) diameter of 19 ft. and minor (horizontal)
diameter of 14 ft. These conduits will have a discharge
capacity of 12,000 sec.-ft. under 44-ft. head, which will
be sufficient to carry normal floods.
After the dam is completed two 48-in. gate valves
will be installed in each conduit barrel, and one 18-in.
valve in one barrel to pass water from the reservoir
through to the river channel below the dam and thence
to the city settling basins and filter plant at Turtle
Creek for municipal use. These valves will be hand
operated from the gate house on top of the dam.
Spillway—On the high ground south of the river
channel a concrete spillway 560 ft. long and of ogee
gravity-type section will be built with crest at sea-level
El. 525, or 15 ft. below the top of the dam. The main
body of the spillway will vary in height from 15 ft. to
25 ft. and will rest on hard shale. It will be connected
with an apron 68 ft. downstream by a concrete slab
4 ft. thick constructed on a slope 2? to 1 and increas-
ing to 1} to 1 at the apron floor. The apron will be at
El. 457 and will be protected by a cutoff wall extending
into shale 10 ft. below the floor level. The highway will
be carried over the spillway on four 139-ft. steel spans.
At the extreme south end of the dam there are two
low sections in the ridge through which flood water
will be discharged in case of unusual and extraordinary
floods. These will begin to discharge when the water
is 10 ft. deep on the service spillway crest. For a
depth of 10 ft. over the service spillway its discharge
capacity will be 58,000 sec.-ft. and for a depth of 14 ft.
the combined capacity of all spillways will be 135,000
sec.-ft.
Reservoir Basin—At service spillway level, El. 525,
the reservoir will cover about 11,000 acres of land.
It will have a length of nearly 11 miles, an average
width of a little more than 14 miles and a maximum
width of about 1? miles. The miximum depth of water
at spillway level will be 65 ft. in the original stream
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 633
April 16, 1925
bed only, and across the main valley will be 40 ft.
The average depth over the whole basin will be about
ig ft. By using flash boards on the spillway crest it
will be possible to increase the depth of water in the
reservoir 2 ft. and its capacity to 70 billion gallons
at such future date as increased storage may be
required.
To provide for policing the reservoir, and for in-
creasing the height of water during high water stages
the city is purchasing lands adjacent to the reservoir
basin up to sea level, El. 535, or 10 ft. above the spill-
way crest. In some instances additional acreage has
been purchased in order to effect satisfactory settle-
‘ment with land owners, of which there were about 130
in the basin. In a few instances condemnation proceed-
ings were necessary in order to acquire title to the
lands. The average price so far paid has been about
$70 per acre. While the larger portion of the basin is
cultivated farm lands, about two-fifths of the area
(4,450 acres) has to be cleared of large timber, under-
brush and sprouts on abandoned cultivated fields. The
clearing work has been begun under contract.
One designated state highway crosses the reservoir
basin about midway of its length. There are several
minor roads which also cross the basin. It will be
necessary to elevate about one mile of the track of one
railroad (the Texas & Pacific, east of Denton) about
5 ft. The highways will be taken care of partly by
FIG. 5—POURING THE SIDE AND CENTER WALLS OF THE
OUTLET CONDUITS
Floor has already been placed. The arched 7 will be the
e
next operation. The conduit barrels end at t shoulders,
-— = the shale where the depression extends across the
connecting them up with the road across the dam at
the lower end of the reservoir and partly by con-
structing an embankment across the basin about ten
miles above the dam. This embankment will be 12 ft.
high and will be surfaced with gravel. There will be
a 100-ft. steel span across the stream channel and
1,150 ft. of creosoted-pile bridge opening additional.
This valley crossing will be about 14 miles in length.
In addition to this and the 2 miles of road on the
crest of the dam, 9 miles of new gravel-surfaced con-
necting highway must be built and 8 miles of existing
roads surfaced with gravel. It will be necessary to
take up 2 miles of existing 6-in. gas main located near
the upper highway and to relay it so as to carry it
across the embankment. About 30 miles of telephone
lines within the basin will have to be taken out, and
connecting lines constructed along both the upper and
lower highways.
This project has been carried forward by the caty
administration, with J. C. Nagle and R. A. Thompson
as engineers in charge, O. N. Floyd, principal assistant,
J. L. Lochridge, designing engineer, and T. C. Shuler,
resident engineer. The contract was awarded to the
W. E. Callahan Construction Co. of Dallas, Tex., on
Aug. 15, 1924. The Puget Sound Dredging Co. of
Seattle, Wash., has the subcontract for the hydraulic fill.
Progress of St. Louis New Water Works
on the Missouri
T THE new water-works plant of St. Louis on the
Missouri River is being undertaken what is probably
the most extensive and elaborate scheme for controlling
and directing the flow of a big river ever attempted
in municipal water-works construction. For a distance
of five miles of river the banks must be protected and
the channel forced and kept within the lines best suited
to serve the water-works. In high water, which is 35 ft.
above low water, there must be waterway enough to
prevent the river from cutting away the banks at any
point or from making a detour across the low lands.
In low water, according to E. E. Wall, water commis-
sioner, the river must be confined to a straight and
narrow path in front of the shore intake of the water-
works. All this requires a system of pile dikes, 26 in
number, ranging from 100 ft. to 2,500 ft. in length,
requiring more than 600,000 lin.-ft. of piling, over
2,000,000 sq.ft. of woven willow mattress, and 60,000
cu.yd. of stone for sinking mattress and bank revet-
ment. There will also be required interlocking concrete
sheetpiling along several hundred feet of river front at
the intake to prevent bank erosion.
This work was started in August, 1923, and the
river channel has already been forced over toward the
lines desired. In another year it will probably be
where it has been planned for it to run. The cost will
approach $750,000 and such is the uncertain behavior
of the Missouri River that any year may necessitate
spending large sums for changes and repairs.
Construction of the low-service engine pit has given
rise to interesting problems. The rock is about 70 ft.
below the mean stage of the river and the general land
level is some 95 ft. above rock. Above rock almost
all the material is sand. The actual area covered by
the intake and engine pit is 12,000 sq.ft., its largest
dimension being 130 ft., so that the cofferdam had to
be of the cellular type. A dredge was floated into the
enclosure before the last cells were driven so that the
excavation could readily be made over the whole area.
More than 500 reinforced-concrete foundation piles,
15 in. square and 48 ft. long, were driven in this pit
to rock, their tops, when driven, being 30 ft. under
water. |
Work on the first 60-in. steel pump main has started.
It will run across country through farms, across and
along highways, through real estate subdivisions for
16 miles, from the Missouri River plant to the city. It
is astonishing, says Mr. Wall, how valuable the land to
be occupied by this pipe line has become. Within the
space of a few months it has doubled, trebled and
quadrupled in value.
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634 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 16
Experience with Wood-Grating in
Sacramento Filters
Delicate Hydraulic Equilibrium Requires Refined
Calculations—Cemented Gravel Will
Help if Strongly Made
By HARRY N. JENKS
Superintendent, Pumping and Filtration Works, Sacramento, Calif.
UDGING by the number of inquiries received from
time to time, considerable interest is being shown
in the experience with the wood-grating underdrains
installed in the Sacramento filters. Lest the impres-
sion be gained that the difficulties encountered in this
plant in the operation of the filters equipped with false
bottoms might be interpreted too broadly to mean that
this type of underdrain is unsatisfactory in general,
the following notes may be of value to designers who are
considering the use of wood-grating or slat-bottom
underdrains for rapid sand filters. Because of the
somewhat limited experience at Sacramento it is hardly
advisable to make any generalized statements, except
that in theory the introduction of wash-water through
a false bottom is fundamentally sound, though in prac-
tice certain evident disadvantages present themselves,
unless special care is taken to obviate them.
In the Sacramento plant four filters in the north
group are equipped with wood-grating underdrains,
while perforated pipe laterals are installed in the south
group. Fig. 1 is a construction photograph showing a
‘ partly completed unit. The false bottom consists essen-
tially of 3x6-in. joists laid transversely to the filter on
4-ft. centers, upon which are mounted 2x4-in. stringers
separated by spacer blocks so that a clear opening of
i in. between the stringers is obtained. All the lumber
is surfaced on four sides. In the photograph one of
the joists is seen beneath the nearest wash-water gut-
ter. Each pair of joists forms a separate compartment,
or clear waterway, under the stringers, approximately
4 ft. wide by 12 ft. long by 6 in. deep. Wash-water is
admitted into each bay through four 5-in. cored holes
from a central header channel built below the wash-
water drain trough that divides each filter in half.
From the time these filters were placed in service in
April, 1924, it was apparent that what might be termed
an hydraulic instability characterized their operation
in comparison with that of the perforated-pipe under-
drains. In general, due to relatively low resistances,
any inequality in static head throughout the system has
a correspondingly greater effect in producing uneven
washing of the filter, as compared with the perform-
ance of the perforated-pipe laterals. Therefore much
more refined hydraulic calculations must be made in
connection with the main distribution channel and
ports through which the water is admitted under the
false bottom. It has been found that as little as a
2-in. difference in water head along the main distribu-
tion channel, which is 58 ft. in length, may be respon-
sible for noticeable inequalities in rates of wash.
In addition to this circumstance, and in the Sacra-
mento case of even greater importance, the wood-grat-
ing underdrains were at the worst disadvantage because
of the large amount of dissolved oxygen which, upon
liberation from the water under negative head or other-
wise, collected in the open spaces under the false bot-
tom and from time to time escaped upward in a single
mass. A most disruptive effect was produced on the
top layer of filter gravel, eventually resulting in the
breaking-through of the filter. An idea of the volume
of air so liberated may be obtained from Fig. 2 which
shows the surface of a filter being jolted to relieve air.
binding. At times a 3-in. wash could be maintained for
six minutes before all the air in the underdrain system
was displaced sufficiently to allow the wash-water to
spill over the gutters.
Use of Cemented Gravel Layer—As soon as it was
concluded that the displacement of the top layer of
gravel (3- to rov-in. size) was due primarily to air.
hammer, efforts were made to remedy this condition by
cementing this gravel in a manner similar to what has
been done in Toronto and elsewhere. Over the lower
lavers of gravel in one of the filters there was laid
a 3-in. slab consisting of one part of neat cement mixed
with nine parts of the top gravel by volume. Due to
the exigencies of operation, it was impossible to ex-
periment with more than one filter, and even with this
one, a thorough test of the value of cemented gravel
could not be carried out. However, sufficient informa-
tion of an encouraging nature was secured to warrant
investigating this matter further with particular refer-
ence to the possible use of cemented gravel underdrains
in the next group of filters to be constructed by the city.
In this connection, the following general conclusions,
based on experience already gained through the trial
“4 »* *
FIG. 1—PARTLY COMPLETED FILTER UNIT EQUIPPED
WITH WOOD-GRATING UNDERDRAINS
of cemented gravel in one filter, will serve as a guide in
future design:
‘1) The use of cemented gravel is thoroughly prac-
ticable from the hydraulic standpoint; i.e., giving the
required discharge with reasonable loss of head and
even distribution through the slab.
(2) Greater mechanical strength is needed than that
afforded by a 3-in. layer of 1:9 cement-gravel mix.
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‘April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 635
(3) This additional required strength can probably
be obtained by increasing the depth of slab to about
g in. and allowing it to act as a beam, with proper re-
inforcement with wire mesh near the top face.
FIG. 2—LIBERATION OF LARGE VOLUME OF AIR DURING
JOLTING OF FILTER TO RELIEVE AIR-BINDING
The results of the test showed that the cemented
gravel layer as constructed would not be satisfactory
because of local defects. In the west half of the filter
the water broke through in several places, causing an
upheaval of the sand bed. Similarly, a large blow hole
developed in the east half, the upward rush of water
carrying the sand over the neighboring gutter. Prior
to replacing the sand bed, the gravel slab had been
back-washed; at that time it was observed that in each
half of the filter a longitudinal crack developed, indi-
cating that the cemented gravel was acting as a beam
spanning the 12-ft. width of the filter bed, and broke at
the points of maximum bending moment and along a
plane extending the length of the filter and roughly
midway between the side walls of each half-unit.
Reinforcement Necessary—In using cemented gravel,
it is evident that a correct balance must be struck be-
tween the depth of gravel slab to secure mechanical
strength and the resistance offered by that depth, in
terms of the water uplift against the slab and tending
to float it. This consideration is of more importance
in case the cemented gravel is placed in small slabs or
blocks which depend for their stability on their weight
in water being greater than the upward thrust of the
wash-water passing through them. If the slab is cast
monolithically, which has an advantage in decreased
cost of construction and a disadvantage in increased
diffeulty of securing a uniform layer, it may be de-
signed to act as a floor slab to take upward thrust, so
that the depth and consequent resistance may be made
enough to secure the desirable property of offering
appreciable friction to the passage of the wash-water.
This tends to insure stable hydraulic conditions, mainly
by compensating for the slight inequalities in static
head underneath the whole system. It has been found
that the resistance through the cemented gravel is
remarkably small, the 1:9 cement-gravel mix at Sacra-
mento showing only 0.15 ft. for an 18-in. vertical rise of
wash-water per minute and 0.5 ft. for a 48-in. rate. It
is considered that these losses are too small and are
open to the same objection that the use of the wood-
grating underdrains entails.
It is believed that the development of a cemented-
gravel layer for use in conjunction with false-bottom
underdrains should prove of great value in offsetting
the disadvantages these underdrains have under certain
conditions where a displacement of the top layer of
gravel in the filter bed takes place. If the functioning of
the wood-grating filter bottom can be assisted by a
cemented-gravel slab, its cheapness of installation as
compared with perforated-pipe underdrains will become
of more importance than it is now. However, it still
remains to be proved whether even this combination can
excel the perforated-pipe underdrains for dependability
under all operating conditions in respect to the produc-
tion and maintenance of a uniform back-wash through-
out the filter bed.
Somewhat approximate measurements of the loss of
head that may be expected through a wood-grating
underdrain system like the Sacramento design have
been made and are given below.
—
LOSS OF HEAD WITH WOOD-GRATING
UNDERDRAIN SYSTEM
Rate of Wash Loss of Head
Vertical Rise Cubic Feet per Square Foot Feet
Inches per Minute per Minute of Water
3 0.25 2.53
6 0.50 2.65
9 0.75 2.75
12 1.00 2.82
15 1.25 2.89
18 1.50 2.96
21 1.75 3.03
24 2.00 3.10
The loss of head refers to the static water head in the dis-
‘tribution channel required to produce the given discharge
through the slat bottom, a 13-in. bed of graded gravel, and
34 in. of clean sand of 0.42-mm. effective size.
Designers will recognize the fact that, in comparison
with the head requirements of the perforated-pipe
underdrains, the slat bottom offers an advantage in
lower frictional losses, particularly beyond the 12-in.
rate of wash. Yet, as already explained, this advantage
is of doubtful value in view of the delicate hydraulic
equilibrium associated with these low resistances.
- Rheims Plans Canal Port Works
Paris Correspondence
The municipal council of Reims, France, has decided
to proceed immediately with a project for the construc-
tion of a new port on the Aisne and Marne Canal. The
city bought the greund involved early in 1914. The
general plan calls for an expenditure of 2,400,000 francs,
of which the national government is to take half of
the charge. A credit of half a million francs has al-
ready been passed with the stipulation that 300,000
francs of this amount will be devoted to excavation
work to give unemployed labor something to do.
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636 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No 1
Dam Floods Danville Water-Works
Requiring Replacement
Rearrangement of Works by Putting Filters in City
of Danville, Ky., at End of Four-Mile Pipe
Line Lengthens Life 20 Years
By PAUL HANSEN
Of Pearse, Greeley & Hansen, Consulting Engineers, Chicago
ONSTRUCTION of the high rock-fill dam for
power development in the Dix River Valley by the
Kentucky Hydro-Electric Co. forced an unusual problem
on the water department of Danville, Ky. This dam,
described in Engineering News-Record, April 2, 1925,
p. 548, has a total height of 250 ft. and, though 28
miles below Danville, will back up the water to a depth
of 50 ft. at the site of the present Danville water-
Proposed highway
River pump- a
ing station ip ine
i £xisting 12” C-1 pipe-
New filter plant ana
pumping-station
HF Danville Hey Map
1234
FIG. 1—DANVILLE WATER WORKS REARRANGED
works pumping station and filter plant. During flood
stages the depth of water at the existing works may be
as much as 70 ft. The Kentucky Hydro-Electric Co.
was in consequence under the necessity of providing a
new water-works for the city of Danville. This work
was done under arrangement with the city whereby the
city was permitted to select engineers satisfactory to
the hydro-electric company and whereby the cost of
the works was to be met by it.
The old water-works plant is located in the valley of
the Dix River about four miles in a northeasterly
direction from the city (Fig. 1). The water is taken
from above a 16-ft. dam, filtered, and then pumped to
the city through a 12-in. main about 20,000 ft. long.
The difference of elevation between the Dix River and
the city is 260 ft. Within the city is a standpipe 16
ft. in diameter and 150 ft. high, having a total capacity
of 225,000 gal. and an effective capacity within the
upper hundred feet of 150,000 gallons.
The population of Danville is about 5,500 and growth
is slow. The average water consumption is a little
under 1 m.g.d., about half of this being used by the
Southern Ry. shops.
On account of heavy friction losses from Dix River
to the city, it is often difficult to deliver water in suffi-
cient quantities. The maximum rate at which the exist-
ing steam pumps can operate is 1.5 m.g. daily. At
times the rate of demand exceeds this, principally on
account of heavy draft by the Southern Ry. shops. In
view of the fact that the new plant is to be electrically
operated it was feasible to place a raw-water pumping
station at Dix River and build a filter plant and filtered-
water service pumps on the edge of the city. By
placing adequate storage at the city plant it becomes
possible to pump at a uniform rate through the }jn¢
line from the river during any 24-hr. period, or perhaps
even longer, thereby greatly increasing the effec ive
capacity of the pipe line with a given friction loss. ‘The
permissible friction loss is also increased by redu ng
the static head by about the height of the stand) pe.
In fact it is estimated on the basis of the presont
population growth that the effective life of the »\pe
line has been increased not less than 20 years. As a
replacement of this pipe line would cost approxima’.
$120,000 this simple modification of the plant arranye-
ment represented a material economy. There is a
further practical advantage in having the main works
in the city inasmuch as experience has shown that it is
hard to keep laborers contented four miles from the city,
Pumping Station at River—The pumping station at
Dix River had to be designed to operate with a water
level in the river varying as much as 70 ft. To accom-
plish this result a tall pump shaft of reinforced con-
crete was built in the river valley just below the exist-
ing water-works dam and adjoining an almost precip-
itous cliff. Surmounting this shaft is a pumping
station building (Fig. 2). Within this shaft are two
5-stage deep-well electric-driven impeller pumps, sus-
pended from steel beams in the superstructure. A]
bolts and connecting pins are of monel metal. An over-
head traveling crane is provided. It is thus a relatively
simple matter to raise and disassemble the pumps for
repair and inspection. To insure favorable operation of
the pumps, extra heavy shafts were used and the
pumps and pump casings are supported by thrust bear-
ings of extra large size. These precautions will keep
the impellers in adjustment and avoid vibration.
—
A2 “Discharge
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ser in concrete
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Section A-A
Section J-J
FIG. 2—RIVER PUMPING STATION TO CARE FOR 70-FT.
VARIATION IN WATER LEVEL
bridge
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 637
FIG. 3—PUMPING STATION AND SHAFT, DANVILLE, KY.
Intake suction pipe passes through dam at right. Two gates
. =, to take water at higher elevations when stream
is flooded.
Each pump has a nominal capacity of 1.5 m.g.d.
against a head of 346 ft., which comprises 260 ft. of
static head and 86 ft. of friction head. The combined
efficiency of the pumps and motors is approximately 66
per cent. Operating together, the pumps can deliver
about 2.25 m.g.d. against a total head comprising the
same static head as above and a friction head of 183
ft. There is room in the shaft for a third pump should
it ever be desired, though at the present time this space
is occupied by an iron stairway which gives convenient
access to the shaft. This pumping station is controlled
in its operation from the main station in the city.
Pumping Station and Filtration Plant in City—At
the city station are a mechanical filter plant with a
nominal capacity of 1.5 m.g.d., a 0.5-m.g. clear-water
storage reservoir and high-service pumping station.
The filter plant proper comprises the following
elements: (1) Chemical feed devices consisting of
wooden storage tanks and the usual chemical feed
boxes. (2) A mixing chamber with a retention period
of about 15 minutes. (3) Two coagulating basins with
a combined nominal retention period of 4 hr., so
arranged that they can be operated independently in
parallel or in series, with or without the mixing
chamber. The retention period of the coagulating
basin is made rather liberal because with floods in
Crab Orchard Creek, a tributary of Dix River, the
water does not coagulate and settle readily. (4) Three
rapid filter units of the usual type, each with a nominal
daily capacity of 500,000 gallons.
Special features of the filter plant are an unusualiy
roomy and light pipe gallery and a large, light and
roomy filter operating room. The superstructure covers
the filters, mixing chamber and the ends of the sedi-
mentation basins. The clear-water reservoir is made
quite large so that it may tide over any interruption
of pumping at Dix River that may result from break-
downs at the pumping station or on the transmission
lines. Because of the fact that power will come into the
city from three different directions, it is believed that
8-hr. storage on the basis of the nominal capacity of
the filter plant should be sufficient. Moreover, in a
small city of this character it is feasible to check
promptly water consumption by signal or otherwise. If
the Southern Ry. shops are stopped from using water
the consumption rate would be cut in half.
The pumping equipment includes a_ centrifugal
wash-water pump operating under low head and capable
of creating a rate of wash in the filters amounting to
24 in. vertical rise per minute, and three centrifugal
service pumps with capacities of 0.75, 1 and 1.5 m.g.d.,
respectively. The largest pump, which will generally
serve as a fire reserve, may be driven either by an
electric motor or a gasoline engine.
An effort has been made to secure a good appear-
ance of all buildings without extravagance. Because of
the conspicuous location of the plant near the city, some
attention has been given to parking and landscaping.
A landscaping plan will be carried out during the
coming summer.
The new works were designed and built under the
supervision of Pearse, Greeley & Hansen, engineers,
Chicago. The resident engineer was George B. Prindle.
A. J. Authenreith and G. W. Hamilton represented
the Kentucky MHydro-Electric Co. as engineers
Henry E. Woolfolk, superintendent of water-works, and
Anton Rehm, chief engineer of water-works, repre-
sented the city. The contractors for construction work,
including buildings were Cope & Fisher of Decatur,
Ill. The contractor for erection of pumping machinery,
piping and filter equipment was the Roberts Filter
Manufacturing Co. of Darby, Pennsylvania.
Developed and Potential Water Power
The developed water power of the world in 1920 was
about 23,000,000 hp., according to an estimate made by
the U. S. Geological Survey in 1921 and, according to
the same source, at the end of 1923 the developed power
was about 29,000,000 hp., or an increase of 25 per cent
in about three years. The increase was about 1,500,-
000 hp. in North America, 3,400,000 in Europe, and
1,000,000 hp. in Asia. The installed capacity for the
United States at the end of 1923 is given as 10,000,000
hp. and the potential power as 35,000,000, but the
Geological Survey states that with complete development
the installed capacity will be about 70,000,000 hp. or
more, so that only about 14 per cent of the total re-
sources of this country has yet been developed. The
estimated waterpower resources of the world are given
in the accompanying table.
Horsepower
Continent Developed Potential
i
25
6 Apri! 16, 1925
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638 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No 16
Oil Tank Fails After Sudden
Drop in Temperature
Two Tanks Destroyed in Fire Apparently Caused by
Rupture of One Tank—Sudden Cold Snap
May Be Responsible
FIRE destroyed two oil tanks of the Marland
Refining Co. at Ponca City, Okla., on Dec. 19,
apparently originating through the ignition of escaping
oil after the rupture of one tank. The cause of the
rupture has not yet been determined. Unusual tem-
perature conditions prevailed just before the break, and
these may have something to do with the accident.
A long period of mild weather had preceded. A
day before the accident the temperature dropped from
about 60 deg. F., and on the morning of Dec. 19 it was
4 below zero. About 6 a.m., Dec. 19, one or two light
very slightly, and the roof lay almost covering it. The
first ring of the shell was torn from the second ring
a distance of about 180 ft. and separated entirely from
the other part of the shell, as well as from the curb
angle of the base, to which it had been electrically
welded. The sheets from the second ring to the roof
were torn along an irregular line, offset by distances
as much as the length of two or three sheets (each
sheet about 18 ft. long). The shell was pushed back, to
the south, to the earth dike surrounding the tank. The
roof showed no large fissure that would indicate any
explosion.
Dimensions of Tank—According to V. T. Moon, chief
engineer of the company, the tank was 117 ft. in diam-
eter by 41 ft. 10 in. high. It had been filled about a
month before. At the time of the accident no oil was
being pumped into or out of the tank.
The bottom was made of }-in. rectangular plates and
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LOCATION PLAN AND SKETCH ELEVATION, PONCA CITY TANK
muffled sounds were heard and it was at once seen that
there was a large fire among the group of tanks. This,
it turned out, was due to the rupture of one tank (the
lower of the two shaded tanks in the sketch plan here-
with). So far as any direct testimony is available,
the fire, the small explosion and the rupture were simul-
taneous, and it cannot be determined which came first.
All plant employees on the fire list were at once called.
The outrush of oil was so great, especially to the north-
ward of the tank, that the earth dike around the tank
was overtopped by the flow, as were also the dikes of
some of the adjacent tanks. The flooded area is indi-
cated in the plan. All tanks were filled with high
gravity crude oil, except the one directly east of the
ruptured tank, which was only about one-sixth full
(containing at the time a depth of 7 ft. 4 in., or about
14,000 bbl. out of the total capacity of 80,000 bbl.).
This tank was destroyed during the fire, the entire
upper portion and roof being warped and crumpled
to the inside, leaving only two or three rings standing.
The sag of the shell toward the south, apparently, tore
the first ring free of the welded base angle connection
along the north side of the periphery.
After the fire, the condition of the tank in which the
trouble originated was as follows: Roof, shell and bot-
tom were entirely separate. The bottom was disturbed
fs-in. sketch plates, electrically welded on the upper
side, and bordered by an angle ring welded to the bot-
tom and riveted to lower ring of shell. The shell was
riveted. It consisted of seven rings, respectively 3 in.,
43 in., 4 in., in., in., in. and in. thick. It was
edged with a 3x3x@-in. angle at the top. The vertical
joints of the two lower rings were butt joints, the
others lap joints. The first ring had §-in. rivets about
2? in. on centers, the others 3?- and 2-in. rivets, spaced
24 in. and 2 in. respectively. The actual joint effi-
ciency may have ranged from 65 to 85 per cent.
The roof was made of *-in. plate on structural
steel framing, and had about 2 ft. rise from eaves to
peak.
The main break in the lower ring of the shell, which
is believed to be the starting point of the rupture, was
a clean break, practically square to the length of the
plating, located about 6 ft. from a vertical joint, and at
or near a joint in the curb angle.
According to a report on the accident by H. W. Henry,
of the Oklahoma Inspection Bureau, to appear in the
National Fire Protection Association Quarterly for
April, the best information is that there was no light-
ning or similar atmospheric disturbance on the day of
the accident, that there was no loud report indicating
any considerable explosion, and that the local people
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April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 639
consider that no defective welding or insufficient or
improper riveting was involved.
A view of the accident held by some of the oil
company people is that the accident resulted from a
break in the lower shell ring, possibly due directly to
the sharp drop in temperature causing contraction
of the shell while the oil in the interior and the plating
ef the bottom were still at a temperature not much
below 60 deg.; and that the outrush of oil through the
break or the tearing of the metal created a spark which
set fire to the oil vapor.
Sacramento Filter Plant Report
Advises Extensive Repairs
Settlement and Cracking Attributed by Structural
Engineer to Faulty Original Design—
Eight New Filters Advised
MMEDIATE repairs and reconstruction of the Sacra-
mento filter plant to cost $100,000 are recommended
in the report of H. D. Dewell, consulting engineer,
San Francisco, made to the Sacramento City Council
on April 2. Dewell also recommends that construction
be started at once on a bank of eight new filters to cost
about $330,000. These new units are to replace old
ones the cost of repair of which would be excessive,
and at the same time to provide needed additional
capacity.
As reported in Engineering News-Record, Sept. 4,
1924, p. 375, attention was called to deficiencies in the
filter plant by the failure, on June 24, 1924, of the
concrete wall between the grit basin and sedimentation
basin 3. This break was made the subject of a report
to the city authorities by Charles Gilman Hyde and
George J. Calder, chief consulting engineer and resident
engineer, respectively, on Sacramento’s water filtration
project. The Hyde-Calder report stated that an exam-
ination of the original plans and subsequent tracings
showed that although the wall was properly designed to
take unbalanced load from either direction, an error
was made by the tracer who copied the original plans
in the process of making up contract drawings. For
one side of the wall he showed only 25 per cent of the
amount of steel called for on the original drawing.
This simple explanation apparently was not con-
cluded to be sufficient by Mr. Dewell, who was retained
by the city some months ago to make an analysis of the
causes of structural failures and settlements in the
plant and to recommend needed repairs. His report
states: “The filtration plant is far from satisfactory
from a structural standpoint.” All structures, with the
exception of the intake pier, the bridge abutment and
the central portion of the pumping station, have settled
since they were completed. Just how much settlement
is uncertain on account of faulty records; the maximum
in structures on piles may be as much as six inches
and in those on spread footings possibly as much as
one foot.
Some of the damage from this settlement is listed
as follows: (1) Both banks of filters have cracked
away from the main building and are out of level. (2)
Certain walls of the pumping station are cracked.
(3) Walls of the areaway of the coagulant building
have settled and are out of line. (4) The walls of
the sedimentation basins are cracked and cracks occur
also in the roof over the sedimentation basins and in
the floors of the grit basins. (5) The central conduits
in the filters are cracked. (6) There is some evidence
for the belief that the 36-in. bypass along the west
wall of the sedimentation basins has cracked.
The report places blame for this settlement squarely
upon those who made the structural design, stating
that there were improper assumptions, a failure to give
proper consideration to ground conditions and faulty —
design of beams and walls. Dewell’s report states:
“With the uncertainties which exist as to the ability
of the structure to withstand further possible settle-
ment and the deficiencies in design, the writer cannot
guarantee its future stability or take any responsibil-
ity for its future behavior.”
The report further states, however, “Outside the
actual failures including cracking and settlement the
plant appears to be functioning satisfactorily after
approximately a year’s service. If no further settle-
ment occurs it is extremely probable that with the re-
pairs recommended the plant will give satisfactory
service for many years to come.”
Recommendations for repair include a temporary
pumping plant during the reconstruction to bypass the
water from the head house to the pumping station
through a 60-in. corrugated steel pipe to be laid for
this purpose. They also advise that the 36-in. bypass of
the sedimentation basins be paralleled by a similar line
and that the bypass gate structure at the northwest
corner of the grit basin be raised.
Practical difficulties in renewing the foundations
under certain parts of the filter beds where settlement
is serious would make the repair cost practically equal
to the original cost of these units, hence the recom-
mendation for a new bank of filters which would replace
these and at the same time provide needed increases in
capacity. The $100,000 recommended for expenditure
on repairs is about 4 per cent of the initial cost of the
work.
Simultaneously with the submission of the Dewell
report the Sacramento city manager announced that the
repairs, to cost $100,000, will be started at once, but
‘that construction of additional filters, which would
require a bond issue, will not be considered for some
time at least.
Industrial Simplification in Sweden
Simplification of practice is progressing well in
Sweden, according to a note in a recent bulletin to sus-
taining members from the American Engineering
Standards Committee. The Swedish Committee on
Industrial Standardization has adopted 71 mechanical
standards. The number of railroad coach screws has
been reduced from 200 to 19. Army lamps have been
reduced from 200 to about 75 types, resulting in an
annual economy of some $2,400 for the army. Stand-
ardization of pipe and fittings is now under study. The
committee has asked a government credit of $19,000 for
the coming year’s operations. Standards for tolerances
of cylindrical parts have been drafted, and a draft
standard for rivets with countersunk flat and spherical
heads has been issued. These heads have countersunk
angles of 70 deg. for diameters from 6 to 13 mm., and |
60 deg. for diameters of 13 to 38 mm.
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640 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No 16
Minneapolis Building 210-Ton Garbage
Incinerator Plant
By J. A. JENSEN
Engineer, Water-Works, Minneapolis, Minn.
HE CITY of Minneapolis has recently let a contract
for a garbage incinerator with a rated capacity of
210 tons per 24 hours. The plant will consist of three
75-ton units of a modified brick type. There will be
employed cast-iron tuyere plates instead of the usual
grates. The furnace section of each unit will have
three tuyere-plate fireboxes separated by two tilting
drying grates. Forced draft is used and the air is
partially heated in ducts passing through the combus-
tion chambers and also by contact with the grate and
tuyere plates before entering the fire. This will keep
the plates at temperatures designed to prevent their
injury by the fire.
The fireboxes are 5} ft. deep, which renders stoking
easy. The drying grates are made to tilt to the right
or left to deposit the drying garbage in any firebox
desired. The gases are passed through a combustion
chamber at the rear by means of two openings in the
rear wall. In the flue a part of the heat can be by-
passed through a heating boiler.
Clinkers, ashes and soot are removable by means of
tunnels below the operating floor. The combustion
chambers have bottom gates for the purpose. The
ashes are delivered to a skip hoist which deposits them
in a 15-cu.yd. hopper.
The fan suction is taken from the clinker pits through
a dust chamber for sedimentation, from hoods over the
furnace doors and through funnels from the charging
floors. By this means foul air or smoke will be passed
through the fire.
The garbage will be handled by overhead cranes and
discharged into hoppers with controlled gates, one tank
to each charge of 4cu.yd. The gates permit the garbage
to descend through a pocket against a second gravity
door above and back of the fire. These two sets of
doors form an air lock, so to speak, between the furnace
and the charging floor. The garbage is hauled in re-
movable steel tanks which may either be stored on the
charging floor for night burning or be dumped into the
fire. A 175-ft. radial brick chimney will carry the
gases well into the atmosphere.
The garbage to be burned is delivered in the wrapped
form, which is a method popular with the housewife in
this climate. By this treatment it is drained of water
at the kitchen sink, wrapped in paper and placed in a
20-gal. can at the alley. In this condition it does not
freeze fast to the sides of the can in winter, nor stick
to the can or foul it in summer, thereby eliminating
odor and flies which is very desirable, and fulfills the
first requirement of sanitation. The garbage is of a
quality between free garbage and the usual mixed
refuse and garbage of most eastern cities.
No attempt is made to utilize waste heat, except to
apply it to the process involved. Drying and incinera-
tion, by employing as much retained heat as possible,
will be the principle involved. The analysis of the
garbage indicates that not more than 50 Ib. of coal
should be necessary per ton of garbage in this furnace.
In the present plant the average coal consumption per
ton in 1923 was 100 lb. and in 1924 it was 71 lb. The
reduction was due largely to the use of a locally de-
signed brick furnace serving a vertical steam boiler.
In the incineration of garbage the combustible © re.
sent must produce sufficient heat units for the elim ina-
tion of moisture. If there is a deficiency of © .™m.-
bustible, coal or other fuel must be supplied to prod icc
a proper heat balance. Where an attempt is mad: to
utilize “‘waste heat” it results in robbing the inciner::',y
furnace of its heat and interfering with combus' ijy
due to lowered temperatures. It becomes necessary to
add coal to “make up” and properly destroy the garbave.
It appears that if heat is to be used for power it jis
preferable to utilize it directly in properly designed
boilers than to saddle this duty upon a garbage in-
cinerator and thereby disturb its proper functions.
For these reasons this plant was adopted to reduce
garbage incineration to its simplest terms, and permit
the destruction by proper utilization of its own heat
as far as it is possible to do so, and add fuel only
when it is necessary to restore a proper heat balance.
The new plant is three miles closer to the center of
the city than the old one which will result in a con-
siderable saving in hauling costs. An effort is being
made to enjoin the city from constructing the plant at
this location and a hearing has been ordered.
The contract was awarded to the Goder Incinerator
Co., of Chicago, for $204,100, which includes the in-
cinerators, building, chimney and all necessary equip-
ment needed for operation. The contract guarantees
that complete and satisfactory incineration will be ac-
complished with 14 man-hours per ton or seven men
per shift not including supervision. On an August
- analysis of wet garbage as a basis it is guaranteed that
not more than 75 lb. of extra fuel will be required per
ton of garbage. Two other bids were received for this
plant, the amounts being $352,612 and $352,400
respectively.
The Goder Incinerator Co. has built an 80-ton plant
at St. Louis, Mo.; a 50-ton plant at Joliet, Ill., and a 40-
ton plant at Whiting, Ind., besides plants at Army and
Navy Stations in the United States and Canada. The
company also has numerous industrial incinerators in
hotels and apartments, and has done considerable work
in waste heat boiler work. The experience of the
company in garbage and refuse disposal is based to a
large extent on German practice.
It is hoped that the new plant at Minneapolis will be
ready for preliminary testing by the middle of August.
Instruments for Airplane Mapping
Two new instruments, a magnifying stereoscope and
a camera lucida, have been designed and built by the
Bureau of Standards, Department of Commerce, as aids
in map making by means of airplane photography. The
stereoscope, built for the Coast and Geodetic Survey, is
to be used in picking out triangulation stations when
airplane photographs are used to supply details for a
map based primarily on a ground survey. Such stations
are generally flagstaffs, church steeples, and other high
objects. The stereoscope makes high objects stand up
in aconspicuous manner. The camera lucida is used for
transferring points to the map in cases where a line
map is to be made and not a photograph. It is especially
designed to correct for the variations in scale and for
the distortion due to roll and pitch of the plane which
are unavoidable in airplane photography. The photo-
graph, horizontalized and brought to the proper scale,
is projected upon the map and the desired points and
lines are traced in with a pencil.
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 641
April 16, 1925
Plugging a High Pressure Tunnel,
Buffalo Filter Plant
Water Bearing Shaft to Tunnel Under 66-ft. Head
—Balancing Pressures Difficult—Third
Trial Method Successful
By C. S. RINDSFOOS
Secretary-Treasurer, Jarrett-Chambers Co., Inc., New York City
The construction of the Buffalo filter plant,
described in “Engineering News-Record” Feb. 19
and 26, pp. 322 and 358, involved some trouble-
some underground construction to deliver the
filtered water into the old raw-water distribution
system. The largest of these operations was to
plug the old Massachusetts Ave. tunnel 80 ft. below
ground and 66 ft. below lake level, as indicated on
Fig. 1, and sink a new shaft (Shaft 4) to connect
the high-level filtered water conduit from the pump
well with the low-level Massachusetts Ave. tunnel.
This operation is described in the following article.
—EDITOR.
NEUMATIC shaft sinking and difficult divers’ work
in a water-filled tunnel 80 ft. below ground were the
essential operations in connecting the new Buffalo filter
plant, through the old tunnel, to the city distribution
system. The structures built are shown by Fig. 2,
which also indicates the general method of construction.
Shaft Sinking—A hole was first excavated, by a half-
yard orangepeel bucket, to a depth of 14 ft., or to a
point just above water level. The ground consisted of
an ash and clay fill and was allowed to take a natural
slope leaving a space some 18 ft. in diameter at the pit
bottom. This afforded room to set the cutting edge
and forms for the circular concrete caisson. Then 3-in.
planks were laid on the bottom of the open cut and on
these the cutting edge was assembled. The concrete
caisson was then molded with removable wooden
forms, to a height of 24 ft. The plank and forms were
then removed and the caisson was sunk by open dredg-
ing, 8 ft. to El. 566. The caisson was then built up to
about its final required height and again ditched to rock
at El. 554. No attempt was made to pump or exclude
the water during this period.
After reaching rock it was found impracticable to
unwater the shaft sufficiently to drill and blast, as water
came through seams in the rock in considerable volume.
A timber deck, for which slots had been left in the cais-
son walls, was then placed, an air lock installed and air
pressure applied. The space between the cutting edge
and the rock was then packed with clay in bags and
the bottom dried, after which the clay was replaced,
bit by bit, with concrete, to effect a permanent joint
between the caisson and the rock.
Rock excavation began 12 ft. in diameter to allow
for a concrete lining 1 ft. thick. The rock is a flinty
limestone, dulling steels quickly and requiring more
than the average amount of dynamite to break it, but
when blasted it breaks very fine. Moreover, the rock
is very seamy and, after the first 34-ft. cut had been
made, a 24-in. seam was uncovered which made it
exceedingly difficult to hold the air pressure. Constant
“mudding up” with clay and cement mortar was neces-
sary so that, after this cut had been cleared, the first
section of the lining was put in to make the shaft
tight down to this point. Excavation proceeded for
another 34 ft., when another and similar water-bearing
seam was encountered. This was grouted and this so
effectually stopped the water that the air pressure was
removed and drilling and blasting were resumed “in the
open.” The blasting, however, soon opened up the seam
Present intake
Raw water
condurt-- plugs
Pumping Station
water
conduit
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FIG. 1—LOCATION PLAN OF SHAFT AND TUNNEL
to such an extent that it was found advisable to cement
it and re-apply the air pressure.
At El. 542 the rock appeared harder and less seamy,
so a second ring of shaft lining was put in place, to
secure the work above, and the air pressure was again
removed. Work in the open now continued for some
10 ft. when a third seam was struck through which
the water came in volume and under a head that caused
it to spurt up 8 ft. Grouting of this seam was unsuc-
cessful, and pneumatic work was resumed, the seam
plugged with mortar and another section of concrete
shaft lining placed, thus securing the work down to
El. 530.
Rock excavation was now continued as_ before,
under air, to El. 522, at which point test holes were
drilled and the concrete arch of the Massachusetts Ave.
tunnel was located.
It should be observed that the exact location of this
old tunnel, into which the shaft was being sunk, was
not accurately known either as to depth or position
in plan. The water in this old tunnel was under a head
of 66 ft. and hence a pressure of about 30 Ib. was
anticipated. The pressure we were using in the shaft
was at times much less than theoretical except when a
bad seam was met. Therefore, to break into the old
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ENGINEERING
642
NEWS-RECORD
tunnel unexpectedly might have caused the shaft to
fill almost instantaneously and trap the workmen. For
this reason as the work approached the old tunnel it was
prosecuted with great caution and the test borings
referred to above were made.
Having located the tunnel, the arch was broken
through, an air pressure of 26 lb. sufficient to hold the
water at 6 in. over the roof being maintained mean-
while. The air pressure and lock were next removed,
the shaft allowed to fill with water, and such material
as had fallen into the tunnel was taken out by clamshell.
Plugging Old Tunnel—The next step was to build
two bulkheads, one of permanent character to exclude
the raw water from the intake side of the Massachusetts
Ave. tunnel, marked A on Fig. 2, and a temporary one,
marked B on the opposite side of the shaft, the two
making a cofferdam in which to make the permanent
connection between shaft and tunnel.
Divers, working two men at a time in two-hour shifts,
built the bulkheads, a gate on the intake side being
first closed as otherwise they would have been swept
along with the current. Air was furnished direct from
the motor-driven air compressor located above ground.
The divers regulated the air pressure themselves by a
needle valve on the hose within reach of the right hand.
The helpers above also had a valve and gage on the line
on which they maintained 40-lb. pressure, which was
reduced by the diver to about 32 lb.
The concrete bag bulkhead A was first started, this
being on the intake side of the tunnel. Bags were filled
and thrown down the shaft during the half hour be-
tween shifts. One diver placed the bags which the other
passed to him. When the bulkhead had been built to
within 1 ft. of the roof, a strong flow of water, due
probably to inability completely to close the intake gate
above referred to, prevented closing the opening and
work was temporarily stopped while the sand-bag bulk-
head B was begun on the opposite side of the shaft.
The current which prevented making a closure of the
one bulkhead was of some assistance in placing the bags
in the other. The sandbag bulkhead was carried to the
tunnel arch or roof, the final space next to the arch
being packed with small bags of clay and oakum.
Work was then resumed on the concrete-bag bulkhead
but without success, due to the flow of water and, as it
appeared that this might go on indefinitely, the divers
were withdrawn and the air lock replaced. The water
was blown down to the tunnel arch, a timber working-
raft constructed, and the plugging of the concrete-bag
bulkhead again attempted. This also proving unsuccess-
ful, the entire space between the two bulkheads was
filled with sand and gravel (concrete aggregate) as high
as the tunnel arch and the sand-hogs began working
back through this sand and gravel to the bulkheads,
mudding-up as they went.
This method was successful and the top of the con-
crete-bag bulkhead was packed tight against the roof.
As the sand and gravel which had been dumped between
the bulkheads were removed, the face of each bulkhead
was covered with 3x12-in. breast-boards, working from
the top toward the bottom. The face of the sand-bag
bulkhead B behind the breast-boards was packed with
clay, and a space 1 ft. thick between the concrete-bag
bulkhead A and its breast-boards was packed with
concrete. The breast-boards were held by vertical tim-
bers which in turn were secured by dowels set in the
In addition to the dowels, one
side walls and floor.
Vol. 94, No. i¢
Position of
concrete Caisson
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FIG. 2—SECTION OF SHAFT SHOWING SINKING AND
PLUGGING OPERATION
line of horizontal timber braces on the center line
helped hold this timber facing as shown in Fig. 2.
The installation of this timber work and the breast-
ing down was extremely ticklish. Work could be done
on only one bulkhead at a time, since by reason of a
4-ft. difference in head on the two ends of the Massa-
chusetts Ave. tunnel, one side would dry up sooner
than the other, and hence the breasting of one side had
to be carried about 2 ft. ahead of the other.
It should also be remembered that this shaft and
caisson, unlike those usually employed in city and bridge
work, was a closed vessel. Air could not be pumped into
it regardless. The 3-in. pipes put in one bulkhead
were for the purpose of acting as relief or safety valves
and likewise an automatic relief valve, set at 30 Ib.,
was mounted on the deck above. The object of these
measures was to avoid a catastrophe should the gage
tender fail in his duty for any cause, in which case,
without such a device, the box might be subjected to too
high a pressure. Likewise the supply line was carried
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Concretvé caisson
after sinking
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April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 643
to a point near the bottom for purposes of ventilation.
of course in the early stages of the building of the
bulkheads, when they were leaky, these precautions
were unnecessary but the tighter the bulkheads became
the more sensitive became the balance between air and
water pressures on the two sides of either bulkhead and
the more necessity was there for extreme caution.
After the bulkheads were finally completed, the per-
manent concrete plug C and the balance of the shaft
lining were put in place. The forms and timber braces
were removed and, since the sand-bag bulkhead then
began to leak there was a consequent loss of air pres-
sure, and finally the face of this bulkhead fell down,
and water came in as high as the roof of the tunnel in
a few seconds. This, of course, had been anticipated
and the men had been withdrawn. The air pressure was
finally taken off entirely and the shaft allowed to fill.
The sand bags were then speedily removed by a
clamshell bucket, divers working meanwhile throwing
the bags within reach below. The opening in the side
of the shaft was then cut through from conduit EF at
the upper level, and the connection was complete.
George C. Andrews, engineer, and C. D. Parsons,
associate engineer of the Filtration Division, had charge
of this work for the city, Fuller & McClintock of New
York City being the consulting engineers. The caisson
was designed and the contract executed by Jarrett-
Chambers Co., Inc., New York City, W. E. Bush having
charge in the field. .
Rib-Arch Concrete Bridge
Over Rock River, Ill.
Twelve Open-Spandrel Arches—Repair of Cracked
Rib—Unfinished Spans on Falsework
in Winter—Brick Parapets
By WALTER S. Topp
Resident Engineer for Whiteside County, Sterling, Ill.
TWELVE-SPAN reinforced-concrete arch highway
bridge over Rock River, which was opened to traf-
fic Dec. 5, 1924, and connects the cities of Sterling and
Rock Falls, Ill., presents some points of design and con-
struction which are worthy of note: (1) The sim-
plicity of design and similarity of construction of the
FIG. 1—CONCRETE ARCH BRIDGE AT STERLING, ILL.
various units in the structure, (2) the conditions to be
met at the north or Sterling end of the bridge due to
the proximity of the tracks of the Chicago & North-
western Ry., (3) the method of supporting the arch
ribs during the winter season to minimize the amount
of falsework in the stream, and (4) the settlement of
falsework under one arch rib during construction.
This bridge consists of twelve double-rib open span-
drel arches having a clear span of 80 ft. 6 in. and a rise
of 10 ft. 9 in.; the width of piers is 6 ft. at the
springing line, making a total distance of 1,032 ft.
between abutments. A roadway 28 ft. between curbs
and two 7-ft. sidewalks make a total width of 42 ft.
between handrails. The sidewalks extend 4 ft. 6 in.
beyond the outside faces of the arch ribs and are
supported by cantilever beams. Fig. 1 is a view of the
completed bridge and Fig. 3 shows the details of the
design.
A camber of 18 in. in the length of the bridge is
introduced by increasing the height of the spandrel
columns which carry the floorbeams. The roadway
slab is 9 in. thick with a span of 9 ft. 1 in. between
center lines of floorbeams. It is designed as a simple
FIG. 2—FALSEWORK UNDER UNFINISHED BRIDGE -
IN WINTER
Temporary footbridge supported on arch ribs.
slab, and is made to act as a simple beam by placing
construction joints over the centers of the floorbeams.
These joints extend from top of slab down to the rein-
forcing steel, and are filled with bituminous felt. The
wearing surface consists of 2 in. of concrete of a
slightly richer mix than the remainder of the slab, and
was poured monolithically with the lower 7-in. portion.
The conditions at the bridge site were favorable for
construction operations and no serious difficulties were
encountered. Over the rock bed of the stream is silt
up to 3 ft. in depth, but the elevation of the rock varies
_only slightly, so that the methods of constructing piers
and abutments were almost identical in every case.
Rock River is fed by numerous lakes in southern Wis-
consin which act as reservoirs and cause a very uni-
form stream flow throughout the year, while about
500 ft. below the bridge site there is a dam which
aids in maintaining the water level at a uniform stage.
Due to these facts, there was very little delay caused by
high water, and the contractor was assured of ample
depth of water to care for floating equipment at all
times. . The usual depth was 7 to 8 ft.
The main line of the Chicago & Northwestern Ry.
crosses the street at grade about 260 ft. from the north
end of the bridge and in order to provide a suitable
grade to a subway it was necessary to lower as much
as possible the crown of the roadway on the first
span. For this purpose the floor of the bridge was
lowered 187 in. by the use of a vertical curve extending
62 ft. from the end of the bridge toward the first pier.
The amount to which the floor could be lowered was
limited to an elevation where the bottoms of the floor-
beams coincided with the under sides of the ribs. In
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, Ni 14
this case, the main reinforcing steel in the floorbeams
was placed before the ribs were poured, and the floor-
beams were notched into the ribs with a series of steps.
Additional short dowel bars were added to strengthen
the beams for shear at their junction with the ribs.
By thus lowering the floor, a grade of slightly less than
5 per cent was obtained for the approach to the subway.
A Brick rail ( flemish bord)
settlement cracked that portion of concrete in th: »j}
which had obtained its initial set. Due to the sett) ny
and cracking of the arch rib, it was thought that °},
bond between the concrete and reinforcing steel m) -h;
have been destroyed, and the strength of the conc, +.
was somewhat doubtful. Consequently, it was deci od
to remove a portion of the rib for a distance extending
| 9 shrb ‘Slab ~
12
Class B concrete used
below copiiig if! plers.
Proportior7s,—1: 3:5
Half Elevation
“se
Half-Section A-A
FIG. 3—TYPICAL SPAN OF ROCK
During the fall of 1923, it became apparent that all
of the arch ribs would not be constructed before winter
and that the falsework under the ribs of the last two
spans poured would have to remain in place in order
to minimize the unbalanced arch thrust at the last pier.
No abutment piers were provided, and analysis showed
that the last pier was unstable with the arch ribs in
place. It was necessary to leave a minimum amount of
falsework in place, as shown in Fig. 2, to decrease the
danger of an ice jam. The upstream side of the false-
work bents ended in a V-shaped frame with a steel beam
acting as an ice breaker. Fortunately, there were no
serious ice jams and when the ice went out the false-
FIG. 4—REPAIRING A CONCRETE ARCH RIB
work was not disturbed. Fig. 2 shows also the tem-
porary sidewalk which was used to maintain pedestrian
traffic during the winter. This was later removed and
placed in the stream on wooden bents, beyond the limits
of construction activities.
During the pouring of one of the arch ribs, the
piling of one falsework bent settled about 54 in. due
to failure to drive one of the piles to refusal.
The
to be made.
Class A concrete used throughout
1 except as shown. Proportioris, -
1:2: 44
Section on C.L.
RIVER BRIDGE
from the construction joint at the pier to a point about
18 ft. from the face of the pier, as shown in Fig. 4.
The concrete was removed by a steam drill and plugs
and feathers.
While the work of removal was in progress, levels
were taken daily at numerous points on the remainder
of the rib to assure that no injurious settlement oc-
curred in that portion of the original pour of concrete
which was to remain in place. The falsework was
strengthened by additional struts and diagonal braces
and a new bent was driven where the former bent had
failed. The reinforcing steel originally placed in the
rib was cleaned and réplaced.
The joint between pier and rib was identical with
similar joints at other points in the bridge, but the
joint between the original pour and the new portion of
the rib was different, since all other ribs were poured
continuously. This joint was given careful attention.
In removing concrete, the work was done entirely by
hand chiseling adjacent to the point where the joint was
The joint was placed at right angles to the
main reinforcing steel in the rib, and a horizontal groove
was chiseled in the concrete to provide some additional
strength at the joint for shear.
This bridge was built at the joint expense of the
city of Sterling and Whiteside County. The design was
made by the bridge department of the Illinois Division
of Highways and is based on a live-load equal to a
24-ton tractor, as required by the state specifications,
or a uniform live-load of 125 lb. per sq.ft. on roadway
and sidewalk surface. Parapet walls of rough-faced
brick, laid in Flemish bond, have copings and bases of
concrete 12 in. wide. There are twenty-six boulevard
lights of 400 cp., two at each pier and abutment. These
lights are on two.circuits, so that after a designated
hour all but five may be put out. They are mounted
on posts of precast reinforced concrete, with the center
of the light approximately 10 ft. 3 in. above the roadway.
The contractors were John Moroff & Son, of Kanka-
kee, Ill. The total cost of the bridge was about $178,500.
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NEWS-RECORD 645
April 16, 1925
Testing and Placarding Roadside
Waters in Pennsylvania
Less than Half of 841 Supplies Examined Approved
by Engineer and Traveling Laboratory
Making Tests on Ground
By EARLE L. WATERMAN AND UH. P. DRAKE
Associate Professor of Sanitary Sanitary Engineer, Pennsyl-
icsngineering, University vania Department
of lowa of Health
OR the purpose of answering the question as to
the safety of roadside water the Pennsylvania State
Department of Health inaugurated a state-wide survey
of the water supplies along the highways of Pennsyl-
vania during the summer of 1924. More than 2,000
miles of main highways were covered by the survey
and 1,200 different sources of water supply were in-
spected by a sanitary engineer. Samples of water from
841 of these sources were examined in a traveling
laboratory. As a result of the sanitary survey and
laboratory examination, 407 “Safe Drinking Water”
signs (Fig. 1) were posted on approved supplies.
The field work was done by a party which consisted
of a sanitary engineer, a bacteriologist and an inspec-
tor from the Restaurant Hygiene Division. The road
equipment (Fig. 2) consisted of a Ford roadster, which
was used by the engineer, and a field laboratory. The
engineer worked ahead of the laboratory, making a sur-
vey of every source of water supply along the highway
which might be used, These sources were found at
garages, filling stations, tourists’ camps, tourists’ lodg-
ing places, refreshment stands, private homes or simply
natural sources of water supply which might or might
not be developed for supply purposes. The inspection
was made to determine whether the- supply was prop-
erly located with respect to possible sources of con-
tamination and whether it was properly protected. The
facts in regard to each supply were recorded on a
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“APPROVED
FIG. 1—SAFE DRINKING WATER SIGN
special report blank and an identifying number was
assigned. If the source of supply was satisfactory
from an environmental and structural standpoint the
engineer put up a signal indicating that the laboratory
men were to take a sample of the water.
The field laboratory was equipped to make bacterial
examinations with the same care that would be exer-
cised in the State Department of Health laboratories.
Total counts of bacteria at 37 deg. C., the presence of
gas-producing organisms in 1 c.c. and 10 c.c. quantities
and the identification of B. Coli were determined. Ex-
amination of the samples collected was always started
within seven hours after the collection of the sample.
For this reason the results obtained were much more
reliable than those which might be reported on a sample
which had been sent to a central laboratory. High
bacterial counts were rare.
The. results of the laboratory examination were re-
corded on the report of the sanitary survey. As sam-
ples were taken only from those supplies which were
satisfactory from a structural and environmental stand-
point, the question of approval of the supply was set-
tled by the results of the bacterial analysis and previous
history. The reports were studied by the engineer and
the bacteriologist*‘and marked “Placard” if the source
of supply was satisfactory from all standpoints.
The reports were then sent to the Bureau of Engi-
we
FIG. 2—FIELD EQUIPMENT: ENGINEER'S FORD AND
TRAVELING LABORATORY
Engineer cruised ahead and examined supplies from struc-
tural and environmental standpoint. Laboratory tested
only supplies passed by engineer.
neering in Harrisburg where they were reviewed by the
Department’s sanitary engineer, and instructions for
the posting of approval signs sent to the health officers
in whose districts the supplies were located. Each
approval sign bore the identification number originally
assigned by the engineer and a number indicating the
year for which the approval was granted. The signs
were posted near the source of supply where they could
be seen by any one seeking water. In some instances
the owner of the supply put up a large sign calling
attention to the fact that the water had been approved
(Fig. 3).
The work done in Pennsylvania covered | many dif-
ferent types of country varying from thickly settled
agricultural districts to sparsely populated mountainous
districts. The itinerary included the Lincoln Highway
from Philadelphia through to the Ohio state line; the
National Pike, running across the southwestern corner
of the state; the William Penn Highway running east and
west across the center of the state; the Chicago-Buffalo
Road along the shore of Lake Erie in the northeast
corner; the Lakes-to-Sea Highway running diagonally
across the state from Erie to Philadelphia; the Perry
Highway, running north and south in the western part
of the state; the Susquehanna Trail running north and
south through the center; the Lackawanna Trail, run-
ning north and south in the eastern end; and several
less well-known connecting highways. These roads trav-
ersed all sections of the state and furnished examples
of almost every known type ot water supply.
The sources of supply found were dug, driven and
drilled wells, springs, small streams and cisterns. A
detailed study of the final reports on the 841 sources
of supply which were examined from an environmental,
structural and bacterial standpoint shows that the fol-
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 16
lowing actions were taken on these supplies: “Safe
Drinking Water” signs posted, 407; approval refused
and owners notified, 278; public supplies—not placarded,
55; not permanently safe—not placarded, 90; action
pending, 11.
“Safe Drinking Water” signs were posted on those
sources of supply which met the requirements of both
the sanitary survey and the bacterial examination.
Signs were refused and the owners notified that the
water should not be used by the public in those in-
stances where the bacterial results indicated some
source of underground contamination which did not
appear in the sanitary survey. In these cases the
bacterial results were very bad. Resampling of the
supply with minor improvements was asked for in cases
where the sample from the supply gave bacterial re-
sults which were slightly lower than the required
WATER HERE
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FIG. 3—OWNERS USED THE APPROVAL
TO LURE TOURISTS
Official placard is on tree but this enterprising owner has
utilized the full advertising value by making an enlarged
fac-simile.
standards. No action was taken on certain sources of
supply, usually for the reason that these sources had
been recently developed and the poor bacterial results
obtained were considered to be due to temporary con-
tamination incident to construction.
Of the 685 placarded safe or disapproved wells, 275
were dug wells, 248 drilled wells and 162 springs, runs
or cisterns. Of the 275 dug wells examined, 104, or
38 per cent, were approved and 62 per cent disapproved.
Of the 248 drilled wells examined, 199 or 80 per cent
were approved and 20 per cent disapproved. Of the
162 springs, etc., examined, 104, or 65 per cent, were
approved and 35 per cent disapproved. A study of the
supplies condemned shows that over 75 per cent of those
not approved were in limestone and broken shale forma-
tion, while only 13 per cent approved were in limestone
or broken shale formation. When it is borne in mind
that all of the 685 sources were selected supplies having
satisfactory surface conditions and showing no evident
signs of contamination, it is apparent that the geologic
structure was the determining factor in most cases as
to the safety of the supply. In many cases a surface
supply or shallow spring not in limestone formation
was found to be safe, while such a spring in a lime-
stone formation was found to be unsafe. The «any.
condition obtains in the deep wells.
Owing to the fact that the work was started rat}).;
late in the season and it was desired to cover the entire
state, the principal object was to locate sources of s: ‘>.
drinking water. The improvement of unsatisfactory
sources of supply was considered of secondary imyvr-
tance during the first survey. As a matter of f::+
many owners of sources of supply which were not ap-
proved have sought advice from the Department of
Health, and are trying to effect improvements which
will insure their supplies being approved on the next
survey. It is the intention of the department to con-
tinue this project during the summer of 1925. |!
sources of highway water supply will be re-examine!
and re-tested before approval signs for 1925 are
granted.
Lake Erie-Ohio River Canal
Reported on Unfavorably
N UNFAVORABLE report upon the proposed canal
connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio River has been
made to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors
by the division engineer of the Central Division, Corps
of Engineers, U. S. Army, according to a notice issued
to parties interested in the proposed canal by Col. C. W.
Kutz, division engineer. Details of the report will not
be made public until after it has been presented to
Congress, but the notice states that the adverse con-
clusions are based on economic considerations as al!
three routes studied are feasible from an engineering
standpoint. The report recites:
“The route extending from Portsmouth, Ohio, to San-
dusky, Ohio, and the route extending from Cincinnati,
Ohio, to Toledo, are both found to be economically in-
advisable in that the fixed charges on such waterways
' will greatly exceed the prospective benefits; the latter
having been computed by taking the differences between
canal haulage costs and existing rail rates and applying
them to the prospective commerce.
“As to the route extending from Beaver, Pa., to
Ashtabula, Ohio, an economic comparison similar to the
one just described shows that such a cazal, when oper-
ating at capacity, will yield benefits approximately equal
to the fixed charges but that if certain inequities and
inequalities in the existing rail rate structure on com-
peting rail routes are eliminated and rail rates on low
grade bulk commodities on such rail routes made rea-
sonably proportional to the cost of the service, the
direct benefits will be substantially less than the fixed
charges.
“As a rail rate case, seeking the elimination of some of
these inequalities, is now pending before the Interstate
Commerce Commission, the conclusion has been reached
that a canal along the Beaver-Ashtabula Route is also
economically inadvisable.
“French Creek Route—Supplementary to the legisla-
tion authorizing the above report, the River and Har-
bor act approved Sept. 22, 1922, provided for a pre-
liminary examination and report on a waterway from
a point at or near Erie Harbor, Pa., by way of French
Creek and Allegheny River, to the Ohio River.
“The report thereon has been made and is unfavor-
able to the improvement. This adverse conclusion was
based on a study of existing maps and data which
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 647
April 16, 1925
chowed that such a waterway would be longer, require
vreater lockage, and be far less valuable as a trans-
portation route for through commerce between Lake
Erie and the Ohio River than a waterway of the same
-ize built along the Beaver-Mahoning Route (synony-
mous with Beaver-Mahoning River).”
Interested parties are given the privilege of an appeal
from this conclusion to the Board of Engineers for
Rivers and Harbors within four weeks from the date
of the publication of the notice of the adverse report.
Ford Company Develops and Uses |
Power at High Dam
Manufacturing Plant Built at Dam with Rail
and Water Facilities—Steam Plant
Supplements Water Power
T HIGH DAM on the Mississippi River in St. Paul,
Minn., the Ford Motor Co. has built a large manu-
facturing plant to be supplied with power from a
hydro-electric generating station making use of the
plant will also furnish steam heat for all the buildings.
Railroad connections for the manufacturing plant are
provided through two depressed tracks running the
full length of the building and one coal track running
along the outside, all three tracks connected to the
C. M. & St. P. Ry. Access to the navigable channel
of the Mississippi River is provided by means of a
quay along the river bank between the two power
houses in a situation where the flow of tail water from
the hydro-electric plant will insure an open channel.
A pair of tunnels 10 ft. wide and 11 ft. high extend
back into the bluff and under the manufacturing plant
to give direct access from the plant to the water
terminal.
The construction was carried on by Stone & Webster.
About 600 men were employed on the power houses and
500 on the manufacturing plant. The hydro-electric
plant was ready to generate power in July and, pending
the completion of the manufacturing plant, the power
available was generated and sold in compliance with the
terms of the lease which call for the generation of all
the power available at the site and the sale to outside
FORD MOTOR CO. MANUFACTURING PLANT AND POWER HOUSES, ST. PAUL, MINN.
water power available at the dam and supplemented by
a steam-electric generating station. High Dam was
completed by the government in 1917 after earlier plans
for two dams with locks in the river at this point had
been abandoned in favor of one set of locks and one
dam in order to develop the full head of 314 ft. with
an output of about 24,000 horsepower. The substruc-
ture for a four-unit power house was built in the dam
but no attempt was made to develop the power until the
site was leased recently to the Ford Motor Co. When
the new power house was built it was necessary to cut
away the greater part of the concrete in the substructure
built by the government in order to make way for new
draft tubes adapted to the developments in design since
the substructure was built.
On a tract of land of approximately 160 acres the
company has built a manufacturing plant with a main
building 1,400 ft. long and 600 ft. wide and on the
river bank below the dam a steam-electric generating
plant as an auxiliary to the hydro-electric plant. The
general layout is shown in the accompanying illustra-
tion. The hydro-electric plant contains four units of
4,500 kw. each and the steam plant contains one unit
of 5,000 kw. with provisions for a second unit. This
companies of all power not used in the manufacturing
plant.
South Australia Adopts American Methods
American railway methods are being applied to the
South Australian railways under the direction of Chief
Railway Commissioner W. A. Webb, former vice-presi-
dent and general manager of the M.-K.-T. R.R., who was
engaged from America by the Barwell government in
1923 to take charge of the railways. Several million
pounds are being spent in relaying portions of existing
lines with 80-lb. rails, strengthening existing structures
to carry heavier loadings, providing more engines of
the Mountain and Pacific type, providing steel pas-
senger cars and 40-ton freight cars and generally bring-
ing the railways of South Australia in line with modern
standard practice. New structures include coaling
plants of types similar to modern ones in the United
States and having capacities ranging from 150 to 300
tons. All-electric signaling is being extended from
Adelaide north and south along the ,main arteries.
A feature of the reorganization has been the introduc-
tion of rail motor cars built in America for use gen-
erally for branch lines and feeders to main lines.
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NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No.
Old Steel Trainshed Replaced by
4 Platform Shelters
=a Lofty Truss Roof Dismantled After 32 Years’
i Service on Account of Maintenance
a Cost Due to Corrosion
is EMOVAL of the old steel trainshed of the Union
Station at Duluth, Minn., and its replacement with
platform shelters, marks the gradual disappearance of
this old type of lofty long-span structures. This
trainshed, 130-ft. span c. to c. of end pins and 400 ft.
long, was built in 1892 and during the past ten years
it has required large expenditures for mainte-
spaced 20 ft. c. to c. and having 17-ft. T-heads carry};
wood joists for a 21-ft. plank roof of the butterfly ty,..
with central gutter and downspouts. The plank sheat'
ing of the shelter roof is covered with tar and gray.
roofing.
For reasons of safety and convenience, the work .;
dismantling the trainshed was done only between 11: 33);
p.m. and 6 a.m., since no trains enter or leave the st:
tion during this period. The contractor used two loco-
motive cranes having booms of sufficient length ¢,
support a truss from the top chord, the ends beiny
burned off while it was held in this position. Then th:
truss was lowered to the ground and cut by torche-
ia nance. Smoke and gases from the engines ee
caused corrosion of some of the metal directly
R: beneath the skylights, and the structure was oun
maintained in condition by placing wooden
members as substitutes for some of the metal-
work supporting the glass.
An examination made in 1924 showed that it train shed
would be necessary to spend $15,000 to $20,000 " , >
a in the removal of purlins, skylights and louvres,
while at little greater expenditure the trainshed
és could be removed and replaced with platform .
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- FIG. 2—OLD TRAINSHED AND NEW PLATFORM SHELTERS AT DULUTH UNION STATION
Re shelters. Furthermore, while the trainshed was only into pieces of sufficient Jength to be loaded onto cars.
4 400 ft. long, the four new shelters are from 400 to 875 All equipment and salvage material was removed from
4 ft. long. Across the ends of the tracks is a 25-ft. the station platform each night, so that there was no
<j covered transverse platform connecting with the head- interference with the use of the station. After the
S house. Each shelter consists of a row of steel columns removal of the skylights, roofing and sheathing, about
4
Me | FIG. 1—STEEL TRAINSHED AT UNION STATION, DULUTH, MINN.
This trainshed was built in 1892 and was taken down in 1924 and replaced with platform shelters.
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NEWS-RECORD 649
April 16, 1925
<ix days’ work was required to take down the trusses
and all steelwork.
In connection with this alteration, there was a gen-
eral relocation of tracks in the station and yard, to-
yether with laying 90-lb. rails and stone ballast.
The total cost of all the work was about $100,000.
After the removal of the roofing by M. J. Harney,
Duluth, the trainshed was taken down by Peppard &
Fulton, Superior, Wis. This improvement was planned
ynd earried out under the direction of H. E. Stevens,
chief engineer, Northern Pacific Railway.
Effect of Flowing Water on the
Stability of Sand
Experiments in Filter Bed and Observations on
Dikes, Cofferdams, and Jetting Piles for
Water Intake at St. Louis, Mo.
By C. M. DAILY
livision Engineer, Supply and Purifying Section, Water Division,
St. Louis, Mo.
HE flow of water through sand may produce a
hard compact mass or it may cause the sand to
lose its resistance to lateral movement or it may cause
any intermediate state, depending entirely upon the
direction and velocity of the water. A downward flow
of water through sand makes it compact and an upward
flow causes it to become mobile. The upward velocity
required to cause water to lose its resistance to lateral
movement depends upon the size of the sand grains and
the amount and character of the foreign material in it.
Some experiments were made last winter in one of
the filter beds, in St. Louis, Mo., to determine the
upward velocity of the water through the sand at which
the sand bed would fail to support a weight of 24 lb.
over an area of 6 sq.in. and allow the weight to sink
to the gravel. The sand varied from 0.38 to 1.2 mm. in
size and was 27 in. deep. The upward velocity of the
water, considered over the entire area, was about 0.09
ft., per minute. A downward flow of the same velocity
caused the sand to become firm and the same 24-lb.
weight would not make a depression in it.
Extensive data on this subject would be very useful
in designing dikes to be constructed in sandy rivers
like the Mississippi and Missouri and for such cases
as the construction of cofferdams, the jetting of piles
and the many kindred operations.
It is a well recognized fact that a permeable dike
in the Missouri River is liable to fail if the water on
the upstream side has a head of about 1 ft. or more
above that on the downstream side. The cause of such
a failure is not as fully recognized, judging from
the lack of precautionary measures embodied in their
design. The failures are caused primarily by water
rising through the sand below the dike, in each case
causing the sand to lose its resistance to lateral move-
ment; the pressure of the water above the dike com-
pletes the failure. Two measures may be used in some
cases to overcome the difficulty, but neither of them
may be practical in other cases. The first is to reduce
the head on each dike by building several close together
rather than a few far apart, and the second is to pre-
vent water from penetrating the sand above the dike.
In December, 1924, the water was lowered 23 ft.
below the river level in a cellular cofferdam around the
site of the water-works intake and low-service pump
pit for our Missouri River plant, for convenience in
dredging. An inward movement of the cells imme-
diately took place. The water was then raised 14 ft.
above the river level and all movement ceased. This
incident impressed one with the necessity of controlling
the flow of water into or out of a cofferdam to obtain
the degree of stability required.
The jetting of piles depends on the upward flow of
water through the sand around the pile and not entirely,
as might be supposed, upon a jet action near the point
of the pile. The quantity of water required to jet
a pile in the ground depends on the character of the
material encountered and the proximity to piles pre-
viously jetted which may provide a path of low resist-
ance to water moving upward. The ideal jet for
sinking piles in alluvial soil is one that will insure a
column of sand in suspension, or quicksand, around
the pile. To obtain this, in many cases, it is advisable
to allow water to escape from the sides of the jet pipe
at close intervals and in sufficient quantities to main-
tain a column of sand in suspension around the pile
which will offer a channel of least resistance for the
upward flow of water which escapes at the lower end
of the jet pipe. When this mobile condition of sand
exists around a pile, it may easily be forced to any
depth. The churning of a jet pipe, so common and
seemingly so necessary in jetting a pile into the ground,
causes only the same condition of lowered resistance to
upward flow of water around the pile that frequent side
jets produce.
In jetting 48-ft. reinforced-concrete bearing piles
164 in. square for the intake and low-service pump
pit for our Missouri River plant, the Frazier-Davis
Construction Co. used from 600 to 900 gal. of water per
minute through a 4-in. jet pipe having 2-in. nozzle.
No side jets have been used to date but difficulties on
several occasions were experienced in getting the piles
to rock.
State Settlement Proposed for North Dakota
State promotion of land settlement is recommended
by the state engineer of North Dakota in his annual
report, just issued. Irrigation is developing slowly in
the state, and “the settlement of land is perhaps the
most difficult problem faced by the U. S. Reclamation
Service on the projects already developed” in the state.
Proper control of settlement was not possible because
most of the land was in private ownership, and as the
holders attempted to farm excessive areas many failures
resulted. Adequate settlement is the greatest need of
all irrigation projects in the state, and it is realized
that until present projects show good results it will be
difficult to obtain further funds for reclamation. On
this account, says the state engineer, W. G. Black, “it
should be to the interest of the state to encourage the
settlement of the land in as small tracts as possible. It
is recommended that land settlement schemes such as
are now being applied on irrigation projects in several
western states be studied. The settlement sed of
California in particular is recommended . .
Irrigation in North Dakota should be considered as a
new industry that will serve to supplement the type
of farming heretofore practised by supplying food
products not obtainable by any other means.”
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650 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 16
From the Water-Works Field
Solving Every-Day W ater-W orks Problems of Cities and Towns
at Albany Water-Works
Control Valve, Pressure Gage, U-Tube Manometer
and Rate-of-Flow Chart Based on Pressure
Loss and Density of Gas
By THEODORE HORTON
Chief Sanitary Engineer, Department of State Engineer, and
Formerly Chief Engineer State Department of Health,
Albany, N. Y.
HOSE concerned in the chlorination of water and
sewage will probably find interest in a new ap-
paratus of recent design, which has just been installed
for the chlorination of the water supply of Albany,
N. Y. The apparatus is the outgrowth of experiments
carried out by the writer in an effort to develop an
inexpensive instrument of simple design and construc-
tion, i.e., one less liable to get out of order and less
troublesome to maintain than any hitherto developed.
The apparatus is essentially a gas meter comprising
four essential parts: A control valve, a pressure gage,
a manometer and a rate-of-flow chart. The principle
upon which the instrument operates is a co-ordination
of the loss of pressure resulting from a flow of gas
through a short tube with the density of the gas.
It is a well-known fact that the laws governing the
flow of gases through pipes or tubes are closely similar
to the laws for the flow of water through pipes or
conduits. The only factor of importance which causes
a variation in this similarity is that of density. Thus,
with water the frictional loss of head due to uniform
flow through a pipe of given diameter will increase
with the velocity and be independent of the water
pressure. The same is substantially true with a gas
except that the greater the pressure of the gas the
FIG. 1—NEW TYPE OF CHLORINATOR, ALBANY, N., Y.
greater will be the density. The quantity by weight of
such a gas flowing through such a pipe will therefore
depend not only upon the velocity of flow but also upon
its density. It is obvious therefore that by bringing
these two factors, frictional loss of head and density,
New Type of Chlorinating Apparatus
into mechanical combination with a chart or scale. as
in the apparatus recently installed in Albany, a direct
measurement of the quantity of the gas flowing through
Sert/)
tan
aN
Chlorine
cylinder
Diffuser
FIG. 2—COMBINED CHLORINATOR AND
RATE-OF-FLOW INDICATOR
The upper pressure gage registers the average pressure
(density) of the gas. The bulb at the top of the U-tube
maintains the liquid in the left leg at a practically con-
stant level when the liquid in the right leg is depressed.
By sliding, along the horizontal guides, the glass or wood
plate on which the chart is mounted the observer brings
the vertical lines corresponding to the upper pressure gage
opposite the right leg of the U-tube, then reads the volume
of gas flow from the position of the meniscus with ref-
erence to the curved lines. Similarly, the opening of the
control valve to give the desired volume rate of gas flow
is controlled. Once set, little if any further adjustment
is required, except to meet (1) temperature changes or (2)
depletion of gas in the cylinders, or (3) to establish a new
dosing rate. Experience shows that changes in temperature
need give little concern, while the replacement of cylinders
can be so ordered as to reduce to a minimum the varia-
tions in pressure on the score of depleted pressure.
the apparatus per hour, or per day, as may be desired,
is obtained.
Fig. 1 shows the instrument installed at Albany.
Fig. 2 and its sub-caption illustrate and explain the
design and operation of the apparatus.
The present apparatus eliminates entirely the need
of a compensating valve, and the use of a check valve
is not considered at all necessary by the designer. It
is true that if the instrument is shut down water will
be drawn back a slight distance into the tube, due to
absorption of the gas. The height to which it is drawn
is, however, ordinarily not over 3 or 4 ft. and for the
obvious reason that as the water is drawn back into
the tube, that portion on top of the column of water
3
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16
ENGINEERING
April 16, 1925
NEWS-RECORD 651
becomes saturated (the saturation point being only a
few per cent), so that equilibrium is soon established
with only a slight rise of the liquid. If the instru-
ment is placed in a low position with reference to the
level of the diffuser, it is a very simple matter to run
the discharge tube up a short distance above the instru-
ment before leading it downward to the diffuser, thus
forming a trap which would prevent the water from
being drawn back into the apparatus.
Two of these chlorinators are now in use in the city
of Albany. One, used for pre-chlorinating the general
supply, was first put in service on Sept. 26, 1924. Ex-
cept for two brief periods, one awaiting the receipt of
silver tubing to replace the rubber tubing temporarily
used on the discharge line and the other awaiting
chlorine shipment, this apparatus has been in continuous
use, applying chlorine at a rate of from 200 to 250 lb.
per day. The other apparatus was installed on Feb. 11,
1925, and is now chlorinating the supply from Rensse-
laer Lake, a temporary source used only during the
winter months. Both installations are running smoothly
and with perfect satisfaction, requiring almost no ad-
justment or other attention except replacement of
chlorine cylinders.
The apparatus, in conjunction with the chart, is cov-
ered by U. S. Patent No. 1,423,217, granted to the
author July 18, 1922. ©
Fire Hose Forms Seal for Stop Logs
to Unwater Intake Chamber
By J. E. GIBSON
Manager and Engineer, Water Department,
Charleston, S. C.
URING the recent construction of a water-supply
intake at the shore line of the Goose Creek stor-
age reservoir of the water-works of Charleston, S. C.,
it was necessary to unwater the new intake chamber to
permit making the connection of the old and the new
intake pipes. In the construction, provision had been
made for placing stop logs in the concrete intake chan-
nel from the reservoir. When the time came to place
these stop logs in position and unwater the chamber,
the leakage around the ends of the stop logs was greatly
in excess of the capacity of the three 2-in. steam
ejectors that had been used to unwater the cofferdam
at the time of placing the concrete. In other words,
sufficient difference in head could not be obtained to
cause the outward pressure to seat the stop logs effectu-
ally against the sides of the groove in the concrete,
although by means of the jack bolts the horizontal
joints between the logs themselves could be effectually
sealed.
It was objectionable to attempt to seal these leaks
by placing cinders or other material in the intake chan-
nel as it was thought that this material would be car-
ried through and might ultimately reach the pumps.
The method finally adopted, which we considered
unique, was to remove all of the logs, shape the lower
end of the bottom log to a gentle radius and fasten to
it by means of strips of canvas a piece of standard
24-in. fire hose, allowing sufficient hose to extend
beyond each end of the log to reach above the surface
of the water when the bottom log was in final position,
placing the log back in the groove or slot in the intake
channel; then placing successively the remaining logs,
forcing them to the bottom of the groove or slot until
sufficient logs had been placed to extend above the flow
line of the storage reservoir. The stop logs had been
cut short enough to make room in the slots for the
collapsed fire hose.
After all necessary stop logs were in position and
forced to their seats by the jack bolts, a j-in. water
pipe was connected to the inlet end of the hose. On
the opposite end of the hose a standard hose valve
was placed and allowed to remain open to vent the air
ES 56
Pipe to maintain eniform
Peada 07 kre hose
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FIRE HOSE UNDER UNIFORM HEAD SEALS STOP LOGS AT
ENTRANCE TO CONCRETE WATER-WORKS INTAKE
and to permit a circulation of water completely through
the section around the stop logs. To prevent excessive
pressure, and to maintain a uniform head in the hose, a
section of j-in. pipe was run up alongside a tree to an
elevation about 45 ft. above the flow line of the reser-
voir. The valve A (see illustration) was cracked suffi-
ciently to keep this pipe overflowing. Water was
allowed to circulate continuously through the hose and
escaped through the valve B to give the foreman a
visual assurance that he was maintaining the supply
of water in the hose and, further, to prevent freezing
in the exposed sections. It will be seen that an exces-
sive pressure in the hose would have acted the same
as a hydraulic jack and might have ruptured the con-
crete abutments. It was reasoned that a 45-ft. head
would not do this.
After everything was in place and the water was
turned on, the leakage was reduced so that one 2-in.
steam ejector running about three hours per day would
take care of the leakage through and around the stop
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652 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. is
logs. There was a total of 192 ft. of joint between
the individual logs and the ends of the intake. This
was maintained for about three months as other diffi-
culties prevented the completion of connections to the
old intake line.
Upon removal of the hose, it was found that the mil-
dew had practically ruined it, but on the whole we con-
sidered it a good job and a satisfactory method of
stopping the leakage.
F. B. McDowell, assistant manager and engineer of
the Charleston Water Department, was responsible for
the suggestion and its successful use.
Water-Works Problems in a Town
of 1,000 People
Aerating Tower to Eliminate Odors—Superintend-
ent Reverses Filter Flow and Throws
{ Away Alum Apparatus
By Harry P. LETTON
Of Grant, Smith & Letton, Consulting Engineers, Lincoln, Neb.
Some are aerating tower constructed for the pur-
pose of removing tastes and odors from a public
water supply in Weeping Water, Neb., has proved so
successful that it is believed a similar structure might
be used with benefit in other places where odor troubles
are encountered. Experience of this town of 1,000
people with a superintendent who discarded the filter
sand, reversed the flow in a pressure filter and junked
the alum rig indicate the vicissitudes small towns with-
out intelligent operation occasionally endure.
The water supply was formerly obtained from shallow
wells along the bank of Weeping Water Creek. This
supply proving inadequate some years ago, a 4-in. cast-
iron pipe line was run from the pumping station to an
ice pond 900 ft. away. This pond, which covers not
over four acres to an average depth of 5 ft., is kept
full by diverting water from the creek whenever re-
quired. The creek, which is a spring-fed stream, has a
small dry-weather flow and becomes extremely turbid
during rains. At the time the line to the pond was con-
structed, a pressure filter having a rated capacity of
180,000 gal. per day was installed. The filter did not
remove the turbidity satisfactorily and accordingly the
town constructed a circular sedimentation basin with a
spiral baffle wall so arranged that the raw water entered
at the center and passed spirally through the tank.
AERATING TOWER, COAGULATION BASIN AND
LOW-LIFT PUMP HOUSE
Solving the Every-Day
In 1922 the writer’s firm was employed to advise th.
city on the water situation. At this time no apprecia}).
difference was noted between the pond water and the
water delivered at the taps. Investigation disclosed th.
fact that although the filter
and sedimentation basin
were large enough under
proper operation to treat —_—#
the water successfully, no RA
apparent improvement was
effected. On opening the — ae
filter it was found that the _
water superintendent had
removed all the filter sand,
replaced it with 2 ft. of
coarse gravel and charcoal
and had punched holes in
the tops of the strainers. He
had also changed the filter
piping and was pumping the
water backward through the
Strainers and up through
the gravel and charcoal into the distribution system.
The result of this practice was that the filter became an
incubator; the bacterial count increased rather than
decreased. No coagulant had been used although the
necessary equipment was found in a junk heap in the
attic of the pumping station.
New strainers were obtained for the filter, properly
graded filter sand and gravel were replaced and the
filter piping put back. Alum tanks and an orifice box
were installed for coagulating purposes and a chlorina-
tor for sterilizing the supply.
As the elevation of the water in the pond was less
than a foot above the coagulation basin walls it was im-
possible to obtain sufficient flow by gravity. A second-
hand, belt-driven centrifugal pump had been installed,
previous to this investigation, in a small building along-
side the basin. This pump took its suction from the
4-in. line and discharged into a home-made aerator in
the center of the basin. As soon as the changes out-
lined had been made, a pure, clear, sparkling water was
obtained, but it was necessary to run the high-lift
pump intermittently because of the fact that the pump
feeding the basin had a smaller capacity than the triplex
pump which forced the water through the filter and into
the distribution system of the town. This arrangement
required the coagulation basin to operate partially on a
fill-and-draw primiple.
Although the water was perfectly clear it had a dis-
agreeable taste and odor due to the presence of green
growths. Treatment of the pond with copper sulphate
was not sufficient to overcome the odors, and it was
therefore decided to construct a more efficient aerating
device. A new motor-driven centrifugal pump capable
of delivering over 200,000 gal. per day against a total
head of 50 ft. was obtained and installed in the place of
the old pump.
The discharge from this pump was connected to a
4-in. riser on which were three lateral 2-in. branches
spaced 5 ft. apart. The ends of the lateral pipes were
bent up on a 1-ft. radius and on each was placed a spray
nozzle of the type used in cooling ponds. These nozzles
INSIDE OF AERATING
TOWER NEAR TOP
cant
PR
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‘April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 653
WVater- Works Problems
have j-in. orifices and each of them will deliver about
45 gal. per minute under a pressure of 8 lb. The riser
pipe was located so that the nozzles were directly over
the center of the basin.
Around the nozzles as a center was constructed an
octagonal-shaped open-work tower having a diameter of
about 30 ft. Each corner of the tower was formed by a
6 x 8-in. timber bolted to the baffle wall in the sedi-
mentation basin. Between the uprights were nailed
louvres sawed from 1 x 12-in. lumber and spaced in such
a manner as to prevent spray from the nozzles from
passing between the louvres. The top of the tower was
BOTTOM NOZZLE OF AERATING TOWER IN ACTION
Looking into the tower through opening formed by remov-
ing some of the louvres.
framed and braced with 2 x 6-in. timber and the whole
was tied together by means of iron rods. The lowest
nozzle was placed just above the baffle wall and the area
within the tower was floored so as to collect the water
falling from the sprays and louvres. The floor was
sloped to discharge this water into the center of the
basin. Valves were placed on each of the lateral spray
pipes so that the pressure in each might be regulated to
distribute the water equally. A bypass valve was placed
on the riser below the surfaee of the water in the basin
so that during the winter months when aeration was
not required the pond water could be pumped directly
into the basin without danger of freezing.
The entire cost of the installation described, includ-
ing the pump, was less than $800. The system was
successful in eliminating odors in the summer of 1924.
Users Advance Money for Small-Town
Water Extensions
By JENT G. THORNE
Consulting Engineer, Clinton, Iowa
HE town of Low Moor, Iowa, being confronted
with the necessity of providing more water mains,
after all legal means of increasing the town’s bond
issue were exhausted, appealed to the interested prop-
erty owners for aid. These property owners asked per-
mission to subscribe certain amounts of money to be
used to pay for the desired mains provided that the
town would grant them credit on future water bills
at the regular rate. A majority of property owners
subscribed $100 each and a few larger amounts. Fig-
ured at the rate of $20 a year the average consumer
would use up his credit in five years time and the
water mains would then belong to the town.
Five blocks of water mains were laid and financed
in this manner. The town was willing to supply the
water as the number of consumers was so small that
water was being wasted to keep a fresh supply in the
tank, The property owners feel that they have a good
bargain and the town officials are gratified to have the
additional mains installed ready for use. Petitions are
now in circulation for the laying of more mains by
the same method.
Brass Services and Special Goosenecks
Used by Hackensack Water Co.
By D. W. FRENCH
Superintendent, Hackensack Water Co., Weehawken, N. J.
RASS service pipes and lead goosenecks with cupped
joints are now being used by the Hackensack Water
Co. which supplies some fifty New Jersey towns and
villages on and near the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.
The goosenecks are made in the company’s shop, at a
saving of 80c. each compared with the wiped joint
goosenecks formerly made by plumbers.
The use of brass services was begun by the company
about three years ago on all of its house service instal-
lation work between the street main and the curb, and
also in renewals of old services which had failed. The
smallest size used is }-in. but for l-in. work brass pipe
is also used. For sizes larger than 1-in., cast-iron is
used exclusively. When we first started this work we
used the regular brass pipe, I.P.S. (iron pipe size).
It gave us some trouble on account of its being too hard
and brittle and being non-flexible so that it broke trans-
versely much as would a glass tube. In the nxt
purchase semi-annealed pipe was specified and with this
quality no trouble has developed.
Before purchasing pipe for this year’s work (1925)
I obtained from Mr. Schneider, representing the Copper
& Brass Research Association of New York City, a
copy of a specification prepared by the American Society
for Testing Materials covering brass service pipe re-
quirements and asked for bids for 135,000 ft. in Jan-
Coupling with female
thread out. ti
New Style
OLD AND NEW STYLE GOOSENECK, HACKENSACK
uary. Part of the pipe has been received and is being
used. The pipe is I.P.S., is very flexible, threads and
cuts well and comes in 12-ft. lengths. I fully believe
it will meet requirements in every way.
Brass pipe may not be quite as cheap as lead-lined
galvanized iron, galvanized iron or black, but the fol-
lowing figures show that it is less costly than lead of
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654 ENGINEERING
t
NEWS-RECORD
the same size: j-in. lead AA weighs 33 lb. per ft. and
with lead pipe at 10c. per lb. the cost is 35c. per ft.;
ij in. brass weighs 1} Ib. per ft. and costs 18i%c. per
lb. or 23c. per foot.
We are using a lead gooseneck between the corpora-
tion tap and the point where the brass pipe begins.
Until Jan. 1 of this year, these goosenecks were made
up by local plumbers, the 90-deg. tail piece of the
corporation tap and a brass soldering nipple at the other
end of a piece of lead pipe 20 in. long having wiped
joints. These goosenecks were expensive, frequently
leaked and were generally unsatisfactory. Our master
mechanic, Hugh Davis, suggested doing away with the
wiped joints and making cup joints instead. This is
done by driving a former into the ends of a piece of
lead pipe and soldering in the tail piece at one end and
a special coupling at the other, leaving when finished a
female thread to receive the pipe. No soldering nipple
is used. We are now making these in our own shop
for about 80c. apiece less than the old style and each
completed piece is tested to 300 Ib. pressure before
going into stock. They are exceedingly satisfactory.
Standard Report Sheets for Small Filters
O assist the smaller filter plants in Illinois in
keeping their daily records so that standard, com-
parable monthly reports may be made to the State
Board of Health, Harry F. Ferguson, state sanitary
engineer, has had a blank form for recording daily
results printed. The forms are supplied at cost. One
of them is reproduced herewith.
Vol. 94, No.
Solving the Every-Day
Electrically-Welded Steel Pipe Line
for Vallejo Water-Works
HE city of Vallejo, Calif., on March 18, awarded «
contract to the Western Pipe & Steel Co. for °2
miles of electrically-welded steel pipe which is to briny
water from Gordon Valley, where a new storage reser-
voir is being built, to the city distribution system. Th:
manufacturers, who are to install the line, have placed
themselves under a $200,000 surety bond, guaranteeiny
the pipe for a period of five years against all leaks and
other defects due to faulty material, manufacture or
installation, and agreeing to make good or replace any
such defects without cost to the city. This is believed
to be the first installation of its kind to be made in
the West.
Bids on the electrically-welded pipe were 10 per cent
lower and the guaranteed efficiency was 10 per cent
higher than those for riveted steel pipe. Bids on both
types were submitted by the same firm. Although the
specifications did not call for electrically-welded pipe,
two separate firms submitted bids on this type. Adop-
tion of the electrically-welded joints saved the city
about $40,000 on the job, the entire cost of which will
be about $450,000.
The diameters will be 22 and 24 in., the length of the
sections 14 ft. and the plate thicknesses *% and / in.
WATER PURIFICATION PLANT
ERATION REPORT FOR ~ 492
(Month) (Day)
} LOW-SERVICE PUMPS COAGULATION HIGH-SERVICE PUMPS CLEAR
NO. PUMP NO PUMP NO PUMP STAGE NO PUMP NO. PUMP NO. PUMP STAGE
| | on om | on | "ort | | on | Om | | | | Time
wt
if FILTER OPERATING DATA
> =
Amount | LOSS-OF-HEAD WASH Amount |_LOSS-OF-HEAD WASH
35 No. On of (hours) rate 1000 Gal Start End Minutes Rate 1000 Gael. °. ( rs) rate al . mutes dl 1000 Gal.
CHLORINE COAGULANT DOSAGE GAS FORMERS
~H N _ No. HLORINATOR DOSE NO 1 TANK NO. 2 TANK Grams PRESUMPTIV BACTERIA
NO_1 CHLORINATO 9.2 CHL | pee TIME [CONFIRM | PER CC
Puls. per Puls. per On Of | Lbs used On or Lbs used Gallon M 24 48 Hrs
os minute Os os minute Pounds se
On or or '
Ibs. per Ibs per oil at Settled
24 brs. 24 Fil
> No.
|< Filtered
? No.
Fileered
No.
i
RESID. CL. H ot Co ODOR
3H IGHT OF CYLINDERS| TOTAL
~ “HLORINE Time | RAW | FILT. | RaW | FILT.
i Time Weight | Lbs used | Time Weght | Lbs used Us
) £ POUNDS ALUM USED LOW-LIFT PUMPAGE Gals.
3 TURBIDITY ALKALINITY AVERAGE DOSE (GR PER GAL.) , HIGH-LIFT PUMPAGE Gee
Time Raw Sertied Fite. | Time Raw Filt. POUNDS LIME USED WASH WATER USED Gats
| AVERAGE DOSE (GR. PER GAL.) 4 PER CENT WASH WATER %
POUNDS CHLORINE USED
AVERAGE DOSE (LBS PER MIL. GAL. .
' CHIEF OPERATOR OR SUPERINTENDENT
FORM FOR SMALL FILTER PLANT DAILY RECORDS, SUPPLIED BY ILLINOIS STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
The original sheets are 84x11 in. There are 10 lines for pump records and 18 lines for results of individual filters.
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April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD 655
Water-Works Problems
The sections are to be dipped and wrapped. The esti-
mated life of the pipe is 35 to 40 years. For a third
of its length the pipe line will be under a head of
avout 400 ft., the remainder will be under heads rang-
ing down to a minimum of 100 ft. Each section is to
be tested in the shop to a pressure of 225 Ib. per sq.in.
and after installation the completed line is to be sub-
jected to a test of 200 Ib. per sq.in. for 48 hours.
In the manufacture of this pipe the longitudinal
seams are all made by the full automatic process, using
direct current, and are guaranteed to 80 per cent of
the full strength of the plate used. The circumferential
seams are to be guaranteed to a strength of 40 per cent
that of the plate. All angles are to be made in the field,
either lap or butt welded, by making a diagonal cut in
a standard pipe section and welding the two parts to-
gether after a 180-deg. rotation. No single angles
are to be more than 10 deg. This provision is made to
secure the desired pipe strength and low friction loss.
The pipe coating is typical of California practice.
After the 14-ft. pipe lengths have been immersed in
“California asphaltum” at 400 deg. F. for 10 to 15
minutes they are lifted from the bath, drained and
' then, while still hot, put in a rotating machine and
wrapped spirally with “a mica covering” previously
impregnated with “a high melting point bituminous
compound containing not less than 25 per cent by
weight of an alkali-resisting mineral.” The impreg-
nated covering must weigh not less than 3.6 Ib. per
sq.yd. The spiral wrapping, which is 18 in. wide and
overlaps about 1 in., is applied under a 50-lb. tension.
While the wrapping is being applied a stream of hot
asphaltum is poured continuously between it and the
pipe. This increases the thickness of the coating, bonds
the wrapping to the pipe and seals the joint where the
spiral “lay” overlaps. Flake mica is applied to the out-
side of the pipe covering wherever surplus asphaltum
oozes from the wrapping particularly at the joints.
A. Kempkey, consulting engineer, San Francisco, is
in charge of design and construction on this extension.
Novelties in the New Water Filters
at Windsor, Ontario
NIQUE features in the new water purification plant
at Windsor, Ont., include a double-deck pipe gallery,
operation of two filters from one table, attention to
architectural effects and a cemented-gravel slab over
the perforated-pipe underdrains.
The plant is being built by the Essex Border Utilities
Commission, which is a district organization for
handling sewage and water utilities for a group of cities
on the Canadian side of the river near Detroit. The
nominal capacity of the plant is 20 m.g.d., arranged so
that the capacity can be doubled when required. The
- plant is on flat ground and must deliver filtered water
by gravity through a rather long pipe line to the
pumping stations at Windsor and Walkerville. This
condition was met by a shallow clear-water reservoir
and an unusually deep coagulating basin of 20-ft. water
depth.
The pipe gallery is a two-story affair. The lower por-
tion contains pipes only. The upper part contains
valves and rate controllers in a readily accessible posi-
tion. The floor, which is of concrete, between the
upper and lower portions, gives added strength to the
filter walls on either side by acting as a brace.
There are ten filters of 2-m.g.d. capacity each,
arranged in two rows on either side of the pipe gallery,
each of the two facing filters constituting a pair. The
filter connections are valved separately and the valves
can be operated from the same operating table. The table
mechanism is such that the two corresponding valves on
each filter can be operated independently by a single
lever. The pair of filters has a single rate-controller
which can be used for one filter or two filters. The rate-
controllers, which are specially made with a range from
1.75 to 4.25 m.g.d., are provided with an integrating
recording mechanism. Rising to within about 6 ft. of
the top of the filters, the effluent piping then turns
horizontally through the controllers and the outlet of
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APPLYING BRICK VENEERING TO WALLS OF
FILTRATION PLANT AT WINDSOR, ONT.
the controllers dips down and discharges into the clear-
water space below the filters. This means that the
effluent controllers, during periods when the filter is
nearing the end of its run, will operate as a true siphon
actuated by the down draft on the pipe leading to the
clear-water reservoir.
A neat architectural effect is gained by covering the
tops of the filter walls with white glazed brick and pro-
viding a wainscoting of white and colored glazed brick
around the entire interior of the building. The filter
operating floor, as well as the floors of the approach ves-
tibule, are surfaced with terrazzo. The entrance lobby is
decorated with marble. All of the exposed concrete
walls on the outside of the structures are veneered with
4 in. of brick with an air space.
A 6-in. layer of cemented gravel is laid over the
perforated-pipe underdrains at the surface of the gravel
layer, which will be about 18 in. in total thickness. The
gravel is about the size of navy beans and will be mixed
with one part of cement to fourteen or fifteen parts of
gravel and placed in the filter. It will thus form a
porous layer looking like ordinary gravel but coated
with a thin film of cement. It is expected that this
cement will hold the gravel together and prevent the
material from working up into the sand. If at any time
it is desired to penetrate to the bottom of the filter the
gravel can easily be broken out and replaced.
J. Clark Keith is chief engineer for the Essex Border
Utilities Commission and William Gore, of Toronto, is
consulting engineer.
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656 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 1:
How a Town of 10,000 Revamped
Its Water-Works
Financial, Physical and Political Exigencies Over-
come—Doubled Rates and Bonds Resulted
from Educative Publicity
By H. A. TOLBURG
City Engineer, Monmouth, I].
INCE 1900 the city of Monmouth, IIl., has been
confronted with a water-supply situation that has
been more serious than the average citizen suspected.
Until 1921 the problem was passed along from one
administration to another, each trying to shun it. The
old pumping equipment had reached such a deplorable
actual pumping cost,
Solving the Every-Day
an investigation and subsequent report on the true cv:
dition of the water-supply system.
From tests run in September, 1921, to determine 1!
it was found that the city w.
paying 19c. per 1,000 gal. to deliver the water into t})..
mains under 30-lb. pressure. Then the investigatic.
was carried further to determine the condition of th.
water mains throughout the city. Several of the oldes:
mains cut into were found to be in as good condition
as when new, although they had been in the ground
more than thirty years. The physical condition of th:
Surge tank
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Switch boara- concrete pi
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state that each year as the warm weather approached
the people suffered a water shortage, and the domestic
pressure was cut down from 55 lb. to 25 lb. to conserve
a small reserve for fire protection. No administration
was willing to allow the public to understand the exact
condition. In 1921 the city council, realizing that the
water-works had been more or less of a political foot-
ball for years, determined to bring this question to a
head by laying the facts before the voters in language
that they could understand. It was decided to provide
Monmouth with a water system that would be a credit
to the city. In July, 1921, the writer was employed
as city engineer and given as the paramount problem
Reservoir
70'x 120'
x 12" Deep
PUMPING STATION DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM
FLEXIBILITY
old pumping plant was almost as low as it could be and
yet operate. The over-all efficiency was only 17 per cent.
Early in October the facts and conditions were pre-
sented to the city council, which appointed a special
water committee, consisting of the council’s water com-
mittee, the mayor and city engineer. This committee
formulated several plans of financing the new water
system and finally determined on the plan of a $90,000
bond issue.
In addition to the bond issue, an ordinance was
passed, creating a water-works rebuilding and construc-
tion fund, into which $6,000 was to be put each year
from the profits of the water-works. To create this
profit the water rates were raised from 35c. to 60c. per
1,000 gal. This rate was known to be excessive, but
due to almost an emergency it was deemed wise to
carry it out. Realizing that it would take a number of
years to create a fund sufficiently large enough
to rebuild our water-works through this system of rev-
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April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD
§57
Water-Works Problems
enue, we deemed it wise to have some money to make
repairs if necessary, to the present plant while we were
building the new plant.
As is often the case in small-town politics, the party
which was out was opposed to the water-works plan,
only because the “outs” did not want to see the admin-
through the news columns of the press. Each night
there appeared some citizen’s views of the water-works.
On Jan. 8, 1924, at a special election, the bond issue
was approved by a vote of two to one.
The plan adopted, now almost completed, consisted
of drilling two wells to a depth of 2,445 ft., which
penetrated the Potsdam sands. These wells were to be
finished at 124 in. from St. Peter’s sands, 1,150. ft.
below the surface. Then above that for 662 ft. was
used 14-in. outside diameter copperoid pipe, and above
4
WELDING, PLACING AND TESTING WELDED CAST-IRON PIPE FOR MONMOUTH RECONDITIONED WATER-WORKS
A—Rig for testing section of welded pipe for tension.
Both joint and pipe withstood 7s tons in tension test which
broke a 14-in. bolt after elongation of 3 in.
B—Bronze welding two lengths of 18-in. cast-iron pipe in
cradle. A band of molten bronze from a }j-in. brass rod is
laid down on the closely butted joint of the two cast-iron
pipes. The collar thus built up is about 2 in. wide, 4 in.
thick on the edges and § in. thick at the center directly
over the pipe joint.
istration reap the glory which was sure to come from
the construction of a new plant. Bonds for sufficient
funds to carry on the rebuilding program were opposed.
It was determined then to enlighten the people as to the
needs of,a new water plant. Sound business men and
good citizens were taken over the old water system and
the entire program explained. Later on these citizens
were asked to make a statement to the newspapers over
their signatures of their findings relative to the needs
of a new water-works. This publicity program was
laid out covering a period of two months-of advertising
C—Two up-ended lengths of pipe after having been
welded to pipe already in well. A vertical weld was made
by laying the molten bronze against the pipe above a 4x2-
in. collar of flat steel, the upper edge of the collar making
a 3-in. shelf on which to start laying on the welding ma-
terial. A wood clamp of two 18x18-in. timbers 4 ft. long
tightened around the pipe by four 2}-in. bolts supported
finally 56 tons. Drillers’ tools may be seen at front of the
crew.
that for a distance of 488 ft., was used cast-iron well
casing, 18 in. inside diameter. The cast-iron well
casing was put together by brazing, which, it is be-
lieved, is the first attempt to install cast-iron pipe in a
deep well by this method. S. B. Geiger, artesian well
contractor of Chicago, had the contract for drilling
the two wells, and The Chicago Oxwelding Corporation
did the welding. It was found through tests at the
Armour Institute of Technology that the brazed joint
on 18-in. cast-iron pipe would hold more than 78 tons.
As the test was: not carried beyond this point, we
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658 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 1
could not say how much more the weld would be good
for. But that was more than the weight that we had
to handle, so the test was not carried to destruction.
The insertion of this pipe was successfully carried on
without mishap by means of special clamps. The wells
are pumped with deep-well turbines, designed for a
capacity of 900 g.p.m. against a total head of 214 ft.
The static head of the Potsdam waters in Monmouth
brings the level to within 183 ft. of the surface. The
deep-well turbines are driven by 75-hp. 2,300-volt slip-
ring motors, controlled by float switches in the reser-
voir, so that when the water drops 4 ft. the pumps are
automatically started and continued in operation until
the reservoir is refilled.
A reservoir of reinforced concrete 70x120 ft. in plan
by 12 ft. deep was provided. It has a capacity of
750,000 gal. and is covered with a wood roof.
Each service pump has a capacity of 450 g.p.m.
against 60 lb. pressure. The pumps can be operated in
parallel or in series. When operated in series they
deliver 450 gal. per minute against a total pressure of
120 lb. which is the fire pressure. The units can,
therefore, be used at any time to help out the fire pump.
The fire pump with a motor of a two-speed type has a
capacity of 1,500 g.p.m. and is controlled from the cen-
tral fire statiofii When a fire alarm is sounded the
chief determines where the fire is and with what pres-
sure he will want to fight it. If it is an ordinary resi-
dence fire he presses button 1, which starts his fire
pump and gives him 1,000 g.p.m. at 80 lb. pressure.
Should the fire be in the factory district or business
district he presses button 2 and gets 1,500 g.p.m. at 120-
Ib. pressure. Then, should he want still more water, it
is possible to put the two service pumps in series and
get 450 gal. more at 120-lb. pressure, which gives him
1,950 g.p.m., sufficient to combat any fire that Monmouth
might have.
The switchboard is of the latest heavy contact type.
Each piece of equipment may be operated automatically
or manually. For standby equipment, to be used in
case the local power plant is out of commission, a
2,300-volt generator of 90-kw. capacity is driven by a
6-cylinder 225-hp. gasoline engine. The generator is
of sufficient capacity to operate one deep-well turbine
and the distributing pump or the fire pump alone,
which makes the service safe for continuous operation
under any condition.
To the bond issue of $90,000, $23,000 was added
from the water-works rebuilding and construction fund,
making $113,000. The total cost of the water plant
was $112,860. We expect to retire the bonds within
a period of seven years, because the excessive water
rate will net a yearly profit and saving by the installa-
tion of the new plant of $19,850. This figure will give
us a good working margin. Further securing these
figures is our contract with the pump company, which
guaranteed a surety bond to the amount of the cost of
the equipment contract and operating cost of not to
exceed 1.92 kw. per 1,000 gal. delivered into the mains
under 60-lb. pressure should the pump fail to deliver
the water at that rate for one year’s time. A favor-
able contract with the local power company was made
whereby we were yiven electrical power at the rate of
2c. per kw. which will further reduce our operating
cost even below the figure the surety bond guaranteed.
The town of 10,000 population too often spends money
Solving the Every-Day
for local improvements through political channels,
rather than through good business channels. It has
been our experience in promoting and bringing to a
close this water-works issue, that the politicians were
the hardest losers, and that unless ways and means sre
contrived whereby they can use their political sti¢k.
then one immediately ceases to be of use to them and
at once is criticized by a large number of people. In
our case by using good business tactics we were ab|
to educate the average citizen so that he could believe.
from knowledge gathered by himself, that the adminis-
tration was for the people and not the politicians.
Rehabilitation of Small 30-Year-
Old Water-Works Plant
Kirksville, Mo., Plant Brought to Date by New
Intake Pumps, Force and Discharge Mains,
Filters, Chlorinators and Pipe
By F. M. VEATCH
Of Black & Veatch, Consulting Engineers, Kansas City, Mo.
IRKSVILLE, Missouri, has recently completed and
put into operation a modern water purification
plant which, together with new supply mains, new
pumping equipment and water main extensions, has
transformed an obsolete system, constructed piecemeal
during the past thirty years, into an up-to-date and
efficient water-works.
Kirksville, at the time of the first water-works im-
provement, 1894, was a town of approximately 2,000
people and has had a rather uniform growth to its
present population of 7,500. The city is the birthplace
of osteopathy and at the present time the non-resident
population due to the two osteopathic colleges together
with the. Northeastern Missouri Teachers College,
amounts to approximately 3,000 persons.
Until now the water consumption has been determined
entirely by the amount available, since the supply has
been deficient and the new plant has not been in service
long enough to establish a rate. It is assumed that
the consumption will be in the neighborhood of 0.75
m.g.d. or 75 gal. per capita.
Historical—The original water-works was constructed
in 1894, at a cost of $20,000. It consisted of two deep
wells, a steam pumping plant, and 23,760 ft. of mains
with 40 fire hydrants. This system became inadequate
within a few years and an additional $40,000 was spent
for impravements, which included a steam pumping
plant on the Chariton River, 64 miles from the city; a
7-in. kalamein force main to the city, and an addition
to the distribution system of 20 hydrants and 53,450
ft. of pipe.
In 1900, a 12-m.g. reservoir, in excavation with rip-
rapped sides, was constructed at the highest point in
the supply line, approximately one mile west of the city,
and a. small high-service station was added. In 1914,
the muddy river water became irksorne and two very
crude 0.25-m.g.d. uncovered sand filters were con-
structed together with a 0.5-m.g. coagulating basin and
a small open clear-water reservoir. Improvements at
the river station included the installation of boilers
and the introduction of a 1-m.g.d. crank-and-fly-
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NEWS-RECORD 659
April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING
lVater-Works Problems
wheel steam pump. In 1919, two 600-g.p.m. oil-engine-
driven centrifugal pumps were installed, and in 1921
4 100,000-gal. elevated tank was constructed. The
makeshift filters were never satisfactory, and in 1922
plans were started for a complete renovation of the
system, the movement being furthered by insistent de-
mands of the fire insurance underwriters and by citizens
who desired more and better water.
Latest Improvements—The improvements consisted of
4 new intake line to the river, a 12-in. cast-iron force
main to the reservoir to replace the 7-in. kalamein pipe
line, which was badly deteriorated and was also in-
adequate in size, a 1.25-m.g.d. rapid sand filter plant, a
new high-service pumping equipment, a new 12-in. dis-
charge line to the city, and considerable extensions to
the distribution system. The improvements cost:
Pipe line construction ..... 66s cee 38,650
Intake—The new intake consists of a substantial con-
crete crib extending to rock, fitted with a removable bar
mixing and to eliminate short-circuiting. Alum alone
is used for coagulation since the large storage capacity
precludes excessive turbidity and this chemical is fed
by means of solution tanks and orifice boxes, at the
inlet and at the outlet of the coagulation basin. The
filter plant is of standard construction throughout and
consists of three 0.5-m.g.d., hydraulically operated
units, completely housed in a fireproof brick-and-con-
crete building, which also houses the high-service pumps.
The available location of the filter plant made it
necessary to have the operating floor approximately
10 ft. above the normal ground level. To prevent ex-
cessive and unsightly filling, around the filter cells, the
walls of the building were brought up outside the con-
crete work, with a 3-in. air space left between the inner
and outer walls to prevent freezing and spalling of the
damp walls of the filter cells. This construction per-
mitted the pipe gallery and pump room to be at the
ground level, desirable for light and convenience.
Liquid chlorine is used for sterilization and is fed
into the suction header through a Wallace & Tiernan
pedestal-type machine.
A 0.66-m.g. rectangular covered clear-water well of
reinforced concrete was provided, located adjacent to
the pump room.
The total cost of the purification plant was $42,178
and the unit prices per cubic yard were as follows: exca-
vation, $1; reinforced concrete, $25; plain concrete, $20.
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR VIEWS OF NEW MBCHANICAL FILTER PLANT FOR WATER-WORKS OF KIRKSVILLE, MO,
screen, and connected to a concrete suction well, on the
river bank by means of a 20-in. cast-iron pipe.
Low -Service Pumping Plant—The existing river
plant was not changed, as the pump is in gvod working
condition and a city owned and operated coal mine, a
few feet from the boiler room door from which coal is
delivered to the boilers at a cost of approximately $2
per ton, makes this method of pumping most economical.
Force Main—The force main from the river to the
reservoir and the discharge main from the filter plant
to the city, were constructed of standard cast-iron pipe,
with the Classes A, B, and C distributed according to
the pressure, and contain approximately 1,480 tons of
pipe which cost f.o.b. Kirksville, $64.17 per ton for
Class A and $59.17 per ton for Classes B and C. The
contract, price for laying the line, inclusive of hauling,
trenching, backfilling and all labor and line materials,
was $0.43 per foot.
Purification Plant—The existing 12-m.g. reservoir
was left without change, since the leakage is negligible,
and the existing coagulating basin was utilized by the
construction of weirs and baffles to provide for 1-hr.
Pumping equipment—Electrical power was selected
for use at the high-service station since the available
prices for current were favorable and since, eventually,
the city will install generators at the river station where
cheap coal is available. Two motor-driven 600-g.p.m.
centrifugal pumps were installed for ordinary use, and
a 1,000-g.p.m. steam-engine-driven centrifugal pump
was installed for emergency use and for fire protection.
Wash-water for the filters is pumped by means of a
gasoline-engine-driven 2,700-g.p.m. centrifugal pump.
The cost of the pumping equipment was $7,583.40.
Extensions to Mains—The extensions to the distribu-
tion system included the removal of 16,470 lin.ft. of
4-in. steel pipe and the installation of 30 hydrants, 2,970
ft. of 4-in., 17,360 ft. of 6-in., 10,520 ft. of 8-in., and
3,280 ft. of 12-in. east-iron pipe. Class B standard cast
pipe was used throughout and cost $63.17 per ton for
4-in. and $59.17 per ton for 6-in. and larger. The costs
of pipe laying, in cents per foot, were: 4-in., 27; 6-in.,
33; 8-in., 36; 12-in., 48.
The engineers for the work were Black & Veatch,
Kansas City, Missouri.
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660 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 16
Water District and Power Company
Adjust Differences
By ARTHUR L. SHAW
Designing Engineer, Metcalf & Eddy, Boston, Mass.
HE COMPLETION of the new electric pumping
plant of the Kennebec Water District at Waterville,
Me., late in the summer of 1924, marked the consumma-
tion of a project whereby a publicly-owned and a
privately-owned utility with conflicting interests were
able to adjust their differences to mutual advantage.
Prior to 1919, the water district pumped the water
required by Waterville, Fairfield, Winslow and Benton
mainly by means of water power owned by the district
on Messalonskee Stream. A steam plant was held in
reserve and used only when the water power was in-
adequate. The Central Maine Power Co. operated
several hydro-electric stations at various points along
the same stream, the newest of which was the Rice’s
Rip development, about four miles upstream from the
district’s pumping station.
When the Rice’s Rip plant was put into operation,
in 1919, the method of operation of this chain of de-
velopment in conjunction with the rest of the Central
Maine system was such that water was withheld except
for 9 or 10 hours each day, during which time the
rate of flow was so great that it could not be utilized to
advantage by the Kennebec Water District. The limita-
ions of the water-supply aqueduct, from China Lake,
8.4 miles distant, and of the distribution system, made
impossible the pumping of the entire daily supply in so
short a period. In consequence, the Kennebec Water
District was forced to pump largely by steam and later
by electrically-driven pumps installed to supplement the
steam plant in this emergency.
Litigation followed, but was discontinued in 1923
FIG. 1—NEW DAM AND HYDRO-ELECTRIC STATION,
WATERVILLE, ME.
This hydro-electric plant of the Central Maine Power Co.,
Waterville, supplies current to drive pumps of the Kennebec
Water District.
when an out-of-court agreement was reached under the
terms of which the Central Maine Power Co. is given a
long lease of the Kennebec Water District privileges
and the district in return is to receive power from the
Central Maine system without charge up to amounts
estimated to be equivalent to the water power which
the district might have developed for pumping had
there been no interference from the company’s develop-
ment. Under the agreement the company has built a
new dam and 1,000-kva. power house (Fig. 1), combin-
ing the heads of the two old dams affected by the agree-
Solving the Every-Day
FIG. 2—NEW ELECTRIC PUMPING STATION OF KENNERBIO«
WATER DISTRICT, WATERVILLE, ME.
Contains three motor-driven centrifugal pumping units of
2-, 2.5- and 3-m.g.d. nominal capacity, with space for iu
fourth unit; traveling crane, gages, Venturi meter register,
chlorinating apparatus and heating plant; also a Wate!
laboratory in an upper room.
ment, and the water district has constructed a new elec-
trically-driven pumping station (see sub-title of Fig. 2
for equipment, including laboratory).
The hydro-electric power plant is operated by push-
button from the pumping station and the current is
delivered onto a switchboard in the pumping station
whence it is taken for driving the motors or dispatched
to the outside lines of the power company. If power
is required for the pumping station, when the new
hydro-electric plant is not being operated, it is drawn
from other lines of the power company.
As the result of the existing understanding, the
power company is enabled to develop and operate its
several plants along the Messalonskee Stream in the
most economical and advantageous manner, without en-
croachment on the rights of others, and the water
district is provided with free power for its present
and probable future pumping needs for a considerable
time to come, thus affecting a mutually beneficial solu-
tion of a problem which promised vexatious and pro-
tracted controversy in the courts.
Copper Sulphate Sown on Ice of Cheyenne
Water-Works Reservoirs
By P. R. REvIs
City Engineer, Cheyenne, Wyo.
N applying copper sulphate to the two reservoirs of
the Cheyenne water-works this year, the chemical
was scattered on the ice or sowed like grain instead of
being distributed as heretofore by means of bags drawr
through the water by boats. The old method was ¢
slow, expensive and uncertain process, the chemical not
being evenly distributed over the large area of ou)
reservoirs. Strong winds endangered the lives of the
boatmen and the distribution was so poor that the
water sometimes had a disagreeable taste for a few
weeks on account of not all the alge growth being
prevented. Application by boats was performed twice
a year, once in April and again in August.
The work this year, on the ice, was done in mid-
winter. Taking advantage of a wind, each man covered
a strip 150 ft. wide at a single passage across the ice.
The size and capacity of the reservoirs are as fol-
lows: Granite Springs, 185 acres in area with a capac-
ity of 1,734 m.g.; Crystal Lake, 127 acres and 1,482
m.g. capacity. <A total of 9,625 lb. of copper sulphate
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NEWS-RECORD 661
Water-Works Problems
was used, which was the equivalent of very slightly
over 30 lb. for each acre covered and at a dosing rate
of 3 lb. per m.g. Four men did the work in five days.
The sulphate is in solution before it goes through
the ice and is therefore not strong enough to be in-
jurious to fish life, yet is sufficiently strong to have the
desired effect upon alge growth. Some two weeks
after the copper sulphate was scattered or at about the
close of February, the ice was broken up. It is ex-
pected that it will not be necessary to treat these reser-
voirs again this year.
So far as the writer is aware, this method of treat-
ment was never used before.
Drain Valve for Chemical Solution
Tanks at Filter Plants
By C. L. B. ANDERSON
Portsmouth, Va.
HE following description of a drain valve for
chemical solution tanks, developed along lines radi-
cally different from valves commonly used in rapid sand
filter plants for this particular service, is offered as a
remedy for the troubles experienced with such valves,
especially in the smaller plants. In valves of designs
commonly used, the corrosion of all the working parts
and of the seats by the chemical solutions, and the
damage to the seats, disks and gates caused by sediment
and grit in the valves when they are being closed, are
the principal causes of the deterioration. During the
fifteen years’ experience of the writer in the design
of rapid sand filter plants, different types of valves
such as wedge gate and double-disk gate valves, angle
valves and cross-valves, and valves with working parts
of different materials—as iron, bronze, brass and monel
metal—were experimented with.
For use in soda solution tanks, and, to a lesser degree,
in lime solution tanks, iron mounted angle valves have
given the best service of any of the standard types
used. In the larger sizes, wedge gate, sliding stem,
quick opening gate valves, iron trimmed, have also
given very good service. Plug corks are unsatisfactory.
In tanks used for sulphate of alumina and hypochlo-
rite solutions standard commercial type valves have
not proved satisfactory, but the best service has been
obtained with valves having seats and working parts
of bronze or monel metal. Phosphor bronze seemed
to give the best service while Tobin bronze and monel
metal gave approximately 80 per cent the service ob-
tained from phosphor bronze.
The unsatisfactory service obtained from even the
best constructed and special trimmed standard commer-
cial type valves has caused many operators in the
smaller plants to use light-weight standard angle or
xate valves, with the expectation of renewing them
from time to time as occasion demanded. This plan
has the objection, in addition to the expense and trouble
of renewals, of loss of chemical solution through valve
leakage. In the smaller plants, where the chemical
dosage is often based on the fall of the solution level
in the chemical storage tanks, the uncertainty due to
leakage is a factor to be considered.
A satisfactory drain valve for chemical tanks must
embody these characteristics: (1) simplicity of design;
(2) few moving parts; (3) resistance to corrosion;
(4) adaptability to different kinds of solutions; (5)
not damaged by grit and sediment; (6) watertight
under all conditions of service; (7) accessible for in-
spection; (8) easily repaired.
During a visit about fifteen years ago to a small
plant in New Jersey, the name of which cannot be
recalled, the writer saw an effective, although crude,
method that had been used to solve operating difficul-
ties. This gave the writer an idea for the design of a
valve which has seemed, after several years service, to
answer satisfactorily the above requirements. The
plant operator had just constructed concrete solution
tanks the bottoms of which sloped to one corner. He
had molded a funnel-shaped opening in the concrete
leading to a drain pipe. These openings were closed
with tapered wooden plugs surfaced with rubber gas-
ket material, the plugs having wooden handles.
From the arrangement just described the writer de-
veloped the valve shown in the accompanying drawing.
The following quotation from specifications under which
the valves were furnished will more fully describe them:
Elevation of Plug
and Handle
&
‘Elevation ane Outlet
; alve for Casting /8
Drain Vaive Steel 4 for ;
for Concrete Chemical’ Concrete:
Chemica! Sol- Solution |: an
ution Tanks Tanks |};
k
DRAIN VALVE FOR CHEMICAL TANKS AT WATER
FILTRATION PLANTS
Drain Valves For Chemical Solution Tanks—This valve
is to consist of a body casting of cast iron to which is to be
bolted with tap bolts a yoke forming a guide and support
for the operating mechanism. The opening in the body
casting is to be closed with a soft rubber plug connected
with a rod and handle for operating the valve. For the steel
lime and soda tank this valve is to be specially constructed
as shown in the drawing. In this case all parts of the valve,
with the exception of the rubber plug, shall be constructed
of cast iron, steel and wrought iron as far as the same may
be used. In the drain valve for the other solution tanks
the rod to which the rubber plug is attached, together with
eastle nut, washers, cotter keys and tap bolts, are to be
made from Tobin bronze. The drain valve is designed to
be used in connection with standard 3-in. soil pipe. Steady
bearings for the valve stems are to be furnished and, placed
near the tops of the solution tanks. .
By the use of a thick washer above the rubber plug
the same design and parts used with the concrete tanks
are made adaptable for use with steel tanks, being
fastened to a pad riveted to the bottom of the tanks.
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662 ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. 16
Letters to the Editor
This department aims to be a forum for the
discussion of the views of engineers and
contractors. The range of interest should
be as wide as possible. Contributors are,
therefore, asked to make their letters short.
Should Floor Slabs in Shallow Truss Spans
Be Made Discontinuous?
Sir—Recently an 80-ft. half-through truss span was
given me for checking the design. The span was designed
for 20-ft. roadway between curbs. The trusses had a depth
of 9 ft. c. to c. of chords with eight 10-ft. panels. The top
chord was made up of two 10-in. channels 25 lb. per ft.,
and one 14x;‘-in. cover plate at the center of the span.
The bottom chord was composed of two 10-in. channels 35
lb. per ft.
The concrete floor slab was designed continuous over
floorbeams at panel points. The live-load was given as two
15-ton trucks with 6 tons on each rear wheel. The spacing
of axles was 12 ft. c. to c., and 9 ft. c. to c. of trucks. It
was possible for two trucks either to pass or meet, allowing
four wheels in a transverse line. The slab was designed
with the formula +s wl for dead-load and 0.8 x 4Pl for
concentrated load with 30 per cent added for impact, and
was 93 in. in total depth. It was reinforced with 8&-in.
round rods spaced 43 in. horizontally 14 in. from top and
bottom over supports and center of panels, and similar
rods spaced 9 in. horizontally at bottom and top at the
same points.
No attention was given to the evident deflection that
would occur in the trusses, which would completely destroy
the assumption of rigid supports on which the formulas
used in the design were based. The slab as designed gave
650 lb. per sq.in. on the concrete and 16,000 lb. per sq.in.
on the steel,’assuming the formulas to give correct results.
However, taking account of slopes and deflections due to
the deflection of the trusses, by a graphical method, the
stresses were 850 and 21,000.
These results indicate that the slab would be more effec-
tive if cut at the floorbeams, as the stresses would then
be only 800 and 20,000.
If it is desired to design for stresses of 650 and 16,000,
the continuous slab would require a greater depth than is
required by simple slabs in each panel. In this case the
continuous slab would call for a depth 10.7 in. and the
simple slab for 10.4 in. J. L. ALBERS,
Structural Engineer, Tennessee Department of
Nashville, Tenn. Highways and Public Works.
Feb. 27, 1925.
Asphyxiation Due to Oxygen Depletion
Sir—The letter in Engineering News-Record, April 2,
p. 572, on “Asphyxiation Due to Oxygen Depletion,” by
F. H. Holway of Tulsa, Okla., is very interesting and
instructive. I believe that the correct explanation has
been given of the death of the engineer who went into the
bottom of this concrete chamber.
Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, its specific gravity
being 1.529. Consequently, with the chamber covered over
and no agitation of the air within the chamber, the carbon
dioxide would settle in a dense layer at the bottom. The
first man into this carbon dioxide would, of course, suffer
the most concentrated effect of it. Also when the lid was
taken off the chamber, the outside air, which was probably
cooler than that in the chamber, would settle and produce
a certain amount of ventilation if the heavily charged
carbon dioxide air in the bottom of the chamber were
ugitated.
The question as to whether or not the concrete might
bave contributed any part of the CO, is best answered by
the fact that a fresh concrete surface absorbs CO, instead
‘f giving it off. In the process of hardening, calcium
hydroxide occurs on the exposed surface of concrete which
‘4 contact with air, which alwavs contains CO. and which
in this case contains a great deal of this gas, takes up
the CO, and forms calcium carbonate. Of course, the
amount of CO, thus absorbed is a very smal] amount and
produces only a skin coating on the surfe *e of the coner+:
The amount thus absorbed would, therefore, have no ap))\..
ciable effect in reducing the foul condition of the air at ¢}.
bottom of the chamber.
There is another possibility, of course, that might have
contributed to this tragedy. Carbon dioxide is formed jy
the earth whenever an acid solution comes in contact wit)
the carbonate, and CO. is frequently given off from fissurv.
in the earth. If, after pulling the forms, some honeycon)
places in the concrete were uncovered, and if carbon dioxid:
was being given off from earth fissures close to these honcy-
comb places, there is a possibility, of course, that the carbon
dioxide in the bottom of the well might have been augmented
from this source. A. C. IRWIN,
Chicago, IIl., Manager, Railways Bureau.
March 26, 1925. Portland Cement Association.
Highway Bridge Impact Moderate
Sir—The editorial entitled “Dangerous Impact Action”
in your March 19 issue, p. 464, has a special interest
to me, as it was my privilege to be connected with the
tests referred to while a graduate student at Iowa State
College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts during the
summer of 1923. I do not believe the impression, given by
the editorial, that highway. bridges must be designed fo,
extremely high impact stresses, is warranted by any pub-
lished data of the Iowa tests.
The determination of impact on highway bridges is an
extremely difficult task and is accompanied by many
variable effects which render individual readings, or even
sets of readings, open to suspicion. This will be true til!
we are able to design better instruments than we now have
for this type of work. It therefore does not seem that the
conclusion “impact is measured more properly by the
extreme or highest values obtained in a series of experi-
ments rather than by the average values” may properly be
drawn from the data.
Again quoting from the editorial, “Because of the vari-
ability of the effect, there is the further possibility that
under full loading (with a number of trucks on a bridge
at the same time) larger impact percentages may result
than in the case of only one or two trucks. The effects
due to the individual trucks may neutralize each ather or
they may reinforce each other, and in the extreme case
they may produce a larger total stress than corresponds
to the sum of their individual effects.” This is inconceiv-
able to me. The large impact percentages given in the
report of Professor Fuller are due to a 2x4 placed in the
most unfavorable position for the member being considered.
Even if it is admitted as a possibility that a fleet of truck-
traveling at ten miles an hour, close together, wouid al!
hit potholes in the bridge floor equivalent to 2x4’s, so time:
as to produce simultaneous effects in any given member
still the trucks distant from this member would produce
effects much less in percentage than those produced by
the truck passing over the unfavorable pothole, for the
inertia and elasticity of the structure itself would absorb
part of the effect. Note that the percentage of impact in
the end post is approximately only one-quarter to one-half
as great as in the hip-vertical, although for impact in these
two members the 2x4 is placed in the same position. In
any case the above quoted conclusion could not be drawn
from the data presented thus far by Professor Fuller,
neither could one say that the impact due to a fleet of trucks
is necessarily as large as for one truck.
In the Iowa Bridge Specifications the paragraphs relating
to impact, based on the 1922 tests, call for 334 per cent
impact for the floor system, 66% per cent for floorbeam
hangers, and for the truss a as given by the formula
7
L + 200
where LZ equals the loaded length in feet producing the
maximum stress in the member and S equals the computed
maximum live-load stress. This portion of the specification
was written by Professor Fuller, I believe. Certainly noth-
ing extreme here.
Professor Fuller and his co-workers are doing a very
able piece of work on this difficult task. I dislike to see
conclusions drawn from these tests which are unwarranted
and may prove very expensive if put into practice.
Urbana, II1., E. A. MACLEAN.
April 3. 1925.
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ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD 668
News of the Week
CURRENT EVENTS IN THE CIVIL ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING FIELDS
Singstad Promoted to Chief
Engineer of Commission
Work of Holland and Freeman to be
Carried on by Engineer Who
Served Under Them
Ole Singstad, engineer of design of
the New York State Bridge and Tunnel
Commission and the New Jersey Inter-
state Bridge and Tunnel Commission
on the construction of the Holland tun-
nel, has been appointed chief engineer
to succeed the late Milton H. Freeman.
Mr. Singstad was born in ‘Norway
June 29, 1882, and’ graduated from the
Polytechnic Institute of Trondhjem,
with the degree of civil engineer in
1905. The same year Mr. Singstad
came to New York, and after serving
for a few months with the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey as a transitman
went to the engineering department of
the Virginian Railway Co., where he
served for two years as assistant engi-
neer in charge of construction on the
New River Bridge and the Hampton
Roads terminal. From March, 1909, to
March, 1910, he worked for the Hudson-
Manhattan Railroad Co., New York, on
the design of the Hudson River tunnel,
and from March, 1910, to September,
1917, with the Public Service Commis-
sion, First District, in charge of design
of subways and tunnels in New York
and Brooklyn, including the Williams
St.-East River-Clark St. tunnel. From
September, 1917, to June, 1919, Mr.
Singstad was first with the Chili Ex-
ploration Co., of New York, in charge
of structural design and then with
Barclay Parsons & Klapp, consulting
engineers, New York, in charge of lay-
ing out and estimating a rapid transit
system and preparing preliminary de-
signs and estimates on a_ vehicular
tunnel.
In July, 1919, Mr. Singstad joined the
New York and New Jersey Bridge &
Tunnel Commission, first as designing
engineer, July, 1919, to July, 1921, and
then as engineer of designs until his ap-
pointment to be chief engineer.
Money Voted for New Jersey
Ship Canal Project
The project to construct a ship canal
across the State of New Jersey from
Trenton to Raritan Bay as part of the
intracoastal canal system has been ad-
vanced by the appropriation of $150,-
000 by the state legislature for the
purchase of right-of-way, and by the
inclusion in the rivers and harbors bill
of an item of $1,350,000 for the dredg-
ing of a 20-ft. channel in the Delaware
River from Philadelphia to Trenton.
The New Jersey Legislature expects
to have part of the proceeds of the sale
of the Morris & Essex canal to devote
to the purpose of buying right-of-way
for the new ship canal in addition to the
amount appropriated.
Engineering Fifty Years
Ago
From Engineering News,
April, 1875
Abstract of an 1855 Report by E. S.
Chesborough, City Engineer
of Chicago, Ill.
HAT Shall the Sewerage of the
City Be Drained Into? Four
principal plans, besides modifications,
have been proposed:
(1). Into the river and branches
directly, and thence into the Lake.
(2). Directly into the lake.
(3). Into artificial reservoirs, to be
thence pumped up and used as
manure.
(4). Into the river, and thence by
the proposed steamboat canal into
the Illinois River.
With regard to the fourth plan, or
draining into the proposed steamboat
canal, which would divert a large ana
constantly flowing stream, from Lake
Michigan into the Illinois River, it is
too remote a contingency to be relied
upon for present purposes; besides,
the cost of it,, or any other similar
channel in that direction, sufficient to |
drain off the sewage of the city, would
be not only far more than the present
sewerage law provides for,-but more
than would be necessary to construct
sewers for five times the present
population.
Should the proposed steamboat
canal ever be made for commercial
purposes, the plan now recommended
would be about as well adapted to
such a state of things as it is to the
present, making it necessary to aban-
don only the proposed method of
supplying the South Branch with
fresh water from the Lake, and to
pump up from the new canal, or draw
from the DesPlaines directly, flushing
water for the West District, instead
of obtaining it from the present canal
at Bridgeport as herein recommended.
Progress on Exchequer Dam
in California
Exchequer Dam, which is being built
by the Merced Irrigation District on the
Merced River in California, has now
been under construction for six months.
In that time, in addition to getting a
very complete plant and equipment in-
stalled within the limited space in the
canyon where the dam is located, some
72,000 cu. yd. of concrete have been
poured, and the dam has been brought
to a height of 110 ft. above foundation.
The ultimate height of the structure
will be 325 ft. and the completion date
is set for early next year.
Thus far the plant at the dam has
been developed to the point where it
can pour about 2,000 cu. yd. of concre
per day. The contract is being carried
out by Bent Bros. of Los Angeles.
City and Regional Planning
Conference to Be Held
Three Organizations to Meet in New
York City in April—Exhibit at
Grand Central Palace
Regional planning, arterial roads,
water fronts and waterways, and zon-
ing practice in America will be the
leading topics before the International
Town, City and Regional Planning Con-
ference to be held in New York City,
April 20-25. Joining. in the conference
will be the American City Planning
Institute, the National Conference on
City Planning, and the International
Federation for Town and Country Plan-
ning and Garden Cities, together with
various affiliated organizations. An ex-
hibit of city planning material from
all over the world will be held at the
Hotel Pennsylvania and at Grand Cen-
tral Palace.
Among the many American and
foreign speakers at the congress, the
following may be noted: Dr. R. Heili-
genthal, Oberbaurat, Berlin, and Dr.
Raymond Unwin, chief housing archi-
tect to the British Ministry of Health,
who will speak on methods of distribu-
tion of people and industries within a
region; G. L. Pepler, chief town plan-
ning inspector, British Ministry of
Health, and Dr. Joseph Brix, regier-
ungsrat, professor at the Technical
High School, Berlin-Charlottenburg,
who will discuss arterial roads; Thomas
Adams, general director, Regional Plan
of New York and Its Environs, who
will outline the plan just mentioned,
and Col. William J. Wilgus, consulting
engineer, New York City, who will take
up transportation around New York.
A review of the progress in planning
throughout the world will be given by
George B. Ford, president, National
Conference on City Planning, and D.
Everett Waid, president, American In-
stitute of Architects. Speakers under
the heading, “Water Fronts and Water-
ways,” will be Col. P. L. Gerhardt, vice-
president, Bush Terminal Co., Brooklyn,
N. Y., who will take up commercial de-
velopment, and Jay Downer, consulting
engineer and executive, Westchester
County Park Commission, New York,
who will consider recreational develop-
ment. City planning as a permanent
solution of the traffic problem will be
presented by Morris Knowles, consult-
ing engineer, Pittsburgh. Platting or
site planning will be presented by Prof.
Sverre Pederson, city architect, Tron-
dhjem, Norway, and zoning of urtide-
veloped areas, by Robert Whitten, city
planner, Cleveland, and protecting the
official street plan, by Philip Nichols.
The speakers on zoning practice in
America will be Edward M. Bassett,
New York City, Lawrence V. Sheridan,
Indianapolis, and T. Glenn Phillips, De-
troit, and E. P. Goodrich and Harvey
W. Corbett, New York City.
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664 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 16
Labor and Capital Discuss
Industrial Co-operation
Hoover, Swope and Green Speak at
Round Table at Civic Federation
Meeting at New York
Waste elimination and the minimiz-
img of industrial controversy were dis-
cussed from the sides of employer,
employee and the public at the first
Industrial Round Table of the National
Civic Federation, in New York, April
11. Herbert Hoover, Sercetary of
Commerce, and Gerard Swope, presi-
dent of the General Electric Co., in
striking phrase, gave the viewpoints of
the public and of the employer respec-
tively while William Green, president
of the American Federation of Labor,
made a comprehensive and dramatic
pronouncement regarding the attitude
of labor toward industrial controversy
and waste elimination.
Mr. Hoover’s text was that the great-
est opportunity for increased wages and
higher standards of living for the
worker lay in eliminating industrial
wastes. These wastes can be reduced
only by collective effort. “They con-
tain,” he declared, “the paradox that
if we save collectively, we will have
more goods and services to expend indi-
vidually.” Illustrating the possibilities,
he commented on the fine showing of
our railways in the last three years.
They have handled a 14 per cent in-
crease in gross operating expenses.
Rates have been decreased over 5 per
cent, the hours of the workers have
decreased and the wage has increased
slightly. Service to the community has
been immeasurably improved, and this
is due to great effort in management,
and the co-operation of the employees
and of the community itself. He cited
also the waste elimination efforts under
way in the construction industry as
typical of effective collective effort.
He declared that there is hope
that America is finding a solution of
the problem of securing social satis-
faction with the preservation of private
industry, of initiative and full develop-
ment of the individual. This is being
brought about by recognition of the
identity of interest of employer and
employed and the effort to organize
that identity in order to limit the area
of conflict. Waste elimination is one
of the subjects in which there is iden-
tity of interest.
MAKING THE EMPLOYEE THINK
Mr. Swope maintained that waste
elimination can be greatly furthered if
the thought of the workers can be
directed to the subject. He related that
in an organization of 60,000 workers,
8,000 suggestions were received in
1923 and 10,000 in 1924. Of these 5,000
had been put in practice, and $100,000
had been paid, over and above wages,
to the workers who had made the sug-
gestions. He stood, he declared, for
lower selling prices of commodities and
showed that lower prices are not in-
compatible with higher wages. Incan-
descent lamps, for example, are now
cheaper than they were before the war,
yet the earnings of the workers have
increased 100 per cent. The “labor
content” of each lamp, however, has
been decreased. This has been brought
about by more efficient methods.
He further discussed the larger value
of workers’ suggestions and of the
relations between management and
employee, and closed his remarks as
follows:
“Probably the most tragic waste of
all in industry is unemployment, where
men ready and willing and able to work,
are unable to secure it, and where soci-
ety really needs their work. The most
severe test of any social system is the
consideration it gives to the human be-
ing, and our present system must find a
solution of this great human problem.
“Industry also is much more cor-
dial today than ever before toward
the problem involved in minimizing in-
dustrial controversy. It is recognized
that if you have the sympathy and
understanding of the warkmen, the
esprit de corps of an organization will
be much better, work will go more
smoothly, the material results accom-
plished will be greater, and the human
satisfaction to all concerned will be
vastly increased.
“As business is organized today,
most companies have a large number
of shareholders to whom they report
periodically as to the results of opera-
tions, and there is every reason why
the working-men should be kept in-
formed of the development of the
business so that they also can see
whitherward it is tending. This has
been accomplished in many instances
with marked success by having the
representatives of the men meet with
the management for the purpose of
discussing various problems as they
arise, so that the men will have a
general understanding as to the busi-
ness of the company. One of the
gratifying results has been the in-
creased satisfaction on the part of the
working-men, and the largely decreased
ae of labor, partly because of
this.
“There is still much to be done and
the most hopeful aspect of the prob-
lem is that management and men are
approaching it more openmindedly.”
ATTITUDE OF LABOR
Mr. Green declared at the outset
that labor believes that production costs
should be lowered through the promo-
tion of efficiency in workmanship and
management, the elimination of waste
and the introduction of economy proc-
esses. Unreasonable competition is one
of the primary causes of waste, leading
even to a disregard of human life and
human welfare. He cited a great basic
industry (admitting after his address
that it was the bituminous coal mining
industry) in which, as the result of
competition, there is at present shock-
ing disorganization and human suffer-
ing. Since labor organizations cannot
be destroyed why not, he pleaded,
“recognize their value and merit and
accept from them the benefits they can
give through their organized effort?”
The workers realize that their wel-
fare in a great measure depends upon
the maintenance of peace in industry.
They have believed that it could better
be maintained through collective bar-
gaining. He insisted that efforts of em-
ployers to prevent the organization of
No Failure of Flat Rock Dam
Press reports that the new dam of the
Ford Motor Company on the Huron
River at Flat Rock, Mich., recently
completed by Stone & Webster, had
failed on April 14 are unfounded. ‘The
real trouble on Huron River was at
the dam of the Detroit Edison Co. at
French Landing a few miles above
Flat Rock where part of the embank.
ment was washed out by the high water.
The damage to the dam is estimated at
$20,000. No damage was done to the
new dam at Flat Rock.
San Francisco to Build Duboce
Tunnel on Assessment Plan
On April 6 the San Francisco poard
of Supervisors voted to build the Duboce
Tunnel at an estimated cost of $1,654,-
000 with funds to be raised by levy
upon an assessment district. This tun-
nel, generally speaking, will paralle!
the Twin Peaks bore a few squares
north, extending under a summit known
as “Mt. Olympus.” It will have a length
of 4,232 ft. with an eastern portal at
Duboce Park and a western portal at
Cole and Frederick Streets. The tunne!
is to be made 25 ft. wide to accommo-
date a double track electric railway
and will be concrete lined throughout.
No vehicular traffic is to be provided
for. The construction period is esti-
mated at 15 months and work is to
start next August. The excavation in-
volved totals 121,722 cu.yd. with 23,086
cu.yd. of concrete and 600 tons of rein-
forcing steel,
workers is a waste of time, money and
effort, that should eiiminated.
Labor, he declared, dramatically, is not
un-American. It is sound, constructive,
practical and rational. It has been
forced to take a militant attitude in
order to maintain its very exis.once. It
does not want to waste its enerzies in
industrial conflicts. It understands
fully the costs of industrial strite, but
it is determined to assert it: right to
organize and bargain collectively, re-
gardless of cost or sacrifice.
“I am confident that we can .ninimize
industrial controversy through a
proper regard and recognition of the
rights of both employers a.-! employ-
ees. The right of the ‘ployer to
manage his industry, to ec ‘rol it and
to receive a fair profit upon iis invest-
ment should be maintained and recog-
nized. The right of the employees to
organize, to bargain collectively, to be
represented in conference with employ-
ers, through their chosen representa-
tives, is a right which should be readily
accorded and completely recognized. A
religious observance of these rights will
do more to minimize industrial contro-
versy than the application of any rule
or formula.
“Supplementing the recognition of
these simple rights must cone under-
standing, co-operation 277? the mani-
festation of a mutuality ~' interest in
the management and cor .:c of indus-
try. Good faith and gvod will must
be firmly established. Perfect candor
must characterize the attitude and re-
lationship of both employers and em-
ployees.”
A
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Ver ev wre
ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD 665
April 16, 1925
| WASHINGTON NOTES |
To comply with the provisions of the
yew River and Harbor Act the Corps
of Engineers and the Federal Trade
Commission are gathering data as to
the cost of a comprehensive survey of
the rivers of the country in order to
establish the fact that such a survey
is urgently needed in order that power
development, navigation improvements,
and flood control can be carried forward
in the most effective fashion. There
was reason to believe that the act,
which now provides for a report setting
forth the need for and expenses of such
4 survey, would have provided for the
<urvey itself, but differences of opinion
among those interested in obtaining
the legislation prevented that action.
General Harry Taylor, Chief of Engi-
neers, states that his first step in carry-
ing out the mandate of Congress will
be to call for a report from each of his
district offices which will cover the
needs of that particular section. This
preliminary report will set forth the
data obtainable in the files of each
office. When these reports have been
»xamined such additional information as
may be needed then will be called for.
The Federal Power Commission will
confine its work to the need of a nation-
wide survey of rivers and streams.
Because of the lack of a definite pro-
gram for the development of power and
navigation on each stream the Federal
Power Commission is compelled to
giant licenses without knowing whether .
the proposed project will fit into a plan
for the maximum utilization of the
stream’s resources or will aid in flood
control and navigation. It is not the
object of the proposed survey to go into
great detail concerning each stream,
but rather to get an accurate picture
of the whole river and let the details
be worked out when development is
undertaken. Congress has already de-
clared its intention to use license fees
and rental receipts for such surveys,
but so far has not passed the enabling
act to make the money from this source,
which amounts to about $250,000 an-
nually, available for this work.
The report is now being prepared
with the idea of having it ready in
case an extra session is called. It is
expected to be so convincing that little
further delay will result in securing
the necessary legislation.
The appeal of the county of Tuo-
lumne, city of Sonora and others from
a decision of the Supreme Court of
California sustaining an order of the
California Railroad Commission in-
creasing water charges for the Tuo-
lumne ditch because of excluding earn-
ings from hydro-electric developments
on the ditch, was dismissed for want of
jurisdiction by the U. S. Supreme Court
March 16 without a written opinion.
The case involved the construction of
the contracts made with water-users
by the Tuolumne County Water Co. in
1850, when the ditch was constructed,
by which it was contended that the
charges against users of water for
irrigation purposes and for consump-
tion were to be reduced by any earnings
from power or other uses of the water.
New Pittsburgh to Easton Rail
Line Proposed
The New York, Pittsburgh & Chi-
cago Railway Co. has applied to the
Interstate Commerce Commission for
authority to build a 283-mile line across
the state of Pennsylvania from Pitts-
burgh to Easton, with two branches in
the Pittsburgh district, making a total
of 344 miles. The company is a new
one headed by Henry O. Evans of
Pittsburgh, and is reported to have
purchased the property and rights of
the Keystone Air Line, a railroad organ-
ized in 1906 for the purpose of build-
ing a line from New York through
Pittsburgh to Chicago. Its plans for
the new line were filed with the Penn-
sylvania Public Service Commission
last January, but no action was taken
pending action on the company’s appli-
cation to the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
Col. F. A. Molitor, of New York, is
engineer for the new railroad company.
No details are available other than
those which came out at Washington
when the application was filed.
Substructure Contract Let for
Mississippi River Bridge
Contract for the substructure of the
new Mississippi River bridge of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry., at
Fort Madison, Iowa, has been awarded
to the Union Bridge & Construction
Co., Kansas City, Mo. Letting of the
contract for the superstructure to the
American Bridge Co. was announced in
Engineering News-Record, April 9,
1925, p. 620.
Originally, there were earnings from
mine use of water and from use as
direct power over waterwheels. Even-
tually, the Phoenix hydro-electric power
plant was established. This is now con-
trolled by the Pacific Gas & Electric
Co., operating a number of public util-
ity enterprises in California, which also
controls the ditch.
In 1922, the Pacific Gas & Electric
Co. applied to the State Railroad Com-
mission for an increase in rates charged
water-users. The commission, exclud-
ing earnings of the Phoenix power
plant, approved water rates represent-
ing an increase of 100 per cent. The
county, several municipalities and vari-
ous water-users as individuals and as
an association, carried the case to the
State Supreme Court, which affirmed
the action of the Railroad Commission.
The U. S. Supreme Court found no rea-
son for federal interference with this
decision, which stands.
The joint engineering board, com-
posed of American and Canadian engi-
neers who are studying the St. Law-
rence project, is meeting in informal
sessions in Montreal this week. The
object of the meeting is to correlate
plans for the engineer'ng investiga-
tions which will be conducted this sum-
mer on behalf of each country. Adver-
tisements have been made in Detroit
of the request for bids to do the boring
which will be undertaken under the
direction of the American members of
the board.
Julius Kruttschnitt to Retire as
Chairman of Southern YPacific
The directors of the Southern Pacific
Co. have announced that Julius Krutt-
schnitt, the engineer who has served as
chairman of the executive committee of
the railroad since 1913, is to retire from
active service on May 31. 3
Mr. Kruttschnitt was born at New
Orleans, July 30, 1854, graduated from
Washington & Lee University as a civil
engineer in 1873 and taught school until
1878, when he joined Morgan’s Louisi-
ana & Texas Road and Steamship Co.
as engineer of extensions and rose in
its service to the various grades of
roadmaster, assistant chief engineer,
chief engineer and superintendent. In
1885 he became assistant manager of
the Atlantic System of the Southern
Pacific Co., and four years later was
promoted to be manager. In 1895 he
was made general manager of the entire
Southern Pacific Co., and in 1898 was
also made its fourth vice-president. In
April, 1904, Mr. Kruttschnitt was made
director of maintenance and operation
of the Harriman System, including both
the Southern Pacific and the Union
Pacific, which position he held until the
two systems were separated and he was
appointed chairman of the executive
committee of the Southern Pacific.
Plans for Sacandaga Reservoir
Approach Final Stage
Special Correspondence
Work on the $9,000,000 Sacandaga
reservoir on the upper Hudson River,
under the supervision of the Hudson
River Regulating District, is in a fair
way to be started in the near future.
Preliminary plans and _ specifications,
prepared some time ago, were approved
by the Water Control Commission of
the state of New York on March 6,
1924, and presented at a public hear-
ing on April 9 of the same year. Fol-
lowing the hearing, on May 7, 1924, the
board made a determination that the
public welfare required the proposed
reservoir and a final order was issued
on May 12. Subsequent to this action,
the River Regulating Board, under the
provisions of the conservation act pro-
viding for the construction of such
reservoirs, made an apportionment of
the cost among the benefited corpora-
tions, land owners, and communities,
and submitted their findings to the
Water Control Commission for its ap-
proval on Jan. 30, 1925. This approval
was given on Feb. 13 and the date for
the final hearing has been set as April
17, 1925.
The cost of the reservoir, estimated
at $9,000,000, is to be paid in a large
part by the companies developing power
along the Hudson River below the res-
ervoir. The largest contributors will
be the Adirondack Power & Light Cor-
poration, the International Paper Co.,
the Union Bag & Paper Corporation,
Finch, Pruyn and Co. of Glens Falls,
N. Y., and the West Virginia Pulp &
Paper Co.
If, after the hearing of April 17, the
final determination is in favor of the
project, bonds will be issued to cover
the cost and the interest charges, and
the cost of retiring the bonds will be
levied against the benefited parties.
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666
ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 16
Kansas Court Cannot Enforce
Compulsory Arbitration
The Supreme Court of the United
States in reviewing a decision of the
Kansas Supreme Court reversed the de-
cision of the Kansas Court which had
upheld the Kansas Court of Industrial
Relations by granting a writ of man-
damus to compel the Charles Wolff
Packing Co. to put into effect an order
regarding wages and hours of labor in
the company’s slaughtering and pack-
ing plant. In rendering the decision,
Justice Van Devanter said: “The system
»f compulsory arbitration, which the
act establishes, is intended to compel,
and, if sustained, will compel, the
owner and employees to continue the
business on terms which are not of their
making. It will constrain them not
merely to respect the terms if they con-
tinue the business, but will constrain
them to continue the business on those
terms.
“Such a system infringes the liberty
of contract and rights of property
guaranteed by the due process of law
clause of the 14th Amendment: ‘The
established doctrine is that this liberty
may not be interfered with under the
guise of protecting the public interests
by legislative action which is arbitrary
or without reasonable relation to some
purpose within the competency of the
state to effect.’ ”
Plans for Building Montreal
Bridge Progress
Plans for the construction of a bridge
over the St. Lawrence River at Mont-
real are advancing. A report on best
location of the bridge was made re-
cently by the Montreal Harbor Com-
mission’s board of advisory engineers,
which recommended a line extending
from the junction of Delorimier Ave.
with Craig and Notre Dame Sts., Mont-
real, southeasterly over the west end
of Ile Ronde and over the east end of
St. Helen’s Island, to a point on the
south shore about halfway between
Longueuil and St. Lambert. The re-
port of the board (T. W. Harvie, G. H.
Duggan, H. A. Terrault, H. M. Mackay,
and E. I. Vallee) was approved by the
commission and the recommended line
adopted. Subsequently, according to
Paul Leclaire, chief engineer of the
commission, it was decided that the
bridge should be built in two consecu-
tive sections, work to begin on the sec-
tion lying between the south shore and
St. Helen’s Island. Bids on the sub-
structure will be called for in April.
Governor Signs New Charter Bill
for Westchester County
The new charter for Westchester
County, adjoining New York City,
drafted by Westchester County Govern-
ment Commission, has been approved
by Governor Smith after passage by
the legislature and will go to popular
vote in November. It provides for a
board of supervisors with legislative
powers only, a chief executive known
as county president, a vice-president
and a county fiscal agent, and a board
of estimate and apportionment, to take
office Jan. 1, 1928.
Waldo and Murray to Advise
on Muscle Shoals
Under the provisions of the national
defense act, which authorizes the em-
ployment of experts and others needed
in connection with the Muscie Shoals
development, the President has ap-
pointed W. G. Waldo as the commis-
sion’s technologist and W. E. Murray to
be secretary of the commission. Mr.
Waldo is a civil engineer, a graduate
of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, who has been associated with
the project since its inception, as engi-
neer for the Tennessee River Improve-
ment Association. During the war Mr.
Waldo was in the service of the Ordi-
nance Department. He was district
supervisor for the Muscle Shoals dis-
trict.
Three Engineers to Investigate
Sewage Disposal at Detroit
The special commission to report on
sewage collection, treatment and dis-
posal for the city of Detroit, appointed
some weeks ago by Mayor John W.
Smith, has chosen a board of engineers
to take up the subject. The three en-
gineers are: Harrison P. Eddy, of
Metcalf & Eddy, Boston, Mass.; John
H. Gregory, professor of civil and sani-
tary engineering, Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, Baltimore, Md.; Clarence W.
Hubbell, consulting engineer and for-
merly city engineer of Detroit who made
an extensive study of the disposal of
Detroit sewage some years ago. The
commission under which these engi-
neers are to work consists of A. C.
Marshall, chairman, George R. Cook,
Francis C. McMath, Harry Fellows and
Louis C. Rogers.
Subway Plans for Detroit
The Detroit city council has passed a
resolution instructing the city Rapid
Transit Commission to submit imme-
diately plans for a subway system
within the limits of Detroit, abandoning
the lines proposed for the adjacent
municipalities including Springwells,
Highland Park and Hamtramck. .
The commission suggested such ac-
tion after difficulties had been en-
countered in getting the necessary
legislative action at the state capitol,
at Lansing, to permit the commence-
ment of work on a complete system
that would extend into the neighboring
municipalities. The commission sought
legislation that would permit the other
municipalities concerned to participate
in a subway system for Greater De-
troit.
The council has the right under the
present Home Rule Act to proceed with
construction work within the city limits
and the new plans asked for will cover
subways included within this scope.
St. Louis Speeds Up Bond Issues
The charter of St. Louis, Mo., was
amended by popular vote on April 7 to
permit the letting of contracts for
municipal improvements before the
bonds authorized for the purpose have
been sold. It is expected that this will
speed up work under the $87,000,000 of
bond issues authorized earlier.
Orleans Board Would Remove
Levee on Mississippi
A formal application has been f'c¢
with the Corps of Engineers by the
Orleans Levee Board asking permis.
sion to remove a line of levees on the
east bank of the Mississippi just below
Point a la Hache. The Mississipp:
River Commission has recommended
that the request be granted.
While Army engineers do not expect
to see any appreciable lowering of flood
levels at New Orleans as a result of
this improvised spillway, they are much
interested in watching the effects of
this experiment. It is expected to fur-.
nish useful indications as to what may
be expected were a spillway put in at
a point higher up the river.
Legislation providing for a study by
the Corps of Engineers of spillway
possibilities was lost after having
passed both houses when the senators
from Mississippi threatened to resort
to the filibuster if necessary to halt
the bill. They took the ground that
this study might pave the way for the
discharge of silt bearing waters into
Mississippi Sound. Water from the
Mississippi discharged at Point a la
Hache, however, would not affect the
coastal waters of Mississippi.
Oregon Appeals to Commission
for New Railroad
In a recent hearing before the Inter-
state Commerce Commission represen-
tatives of the state of Oregon repeated
their plea for the construction of over
300 miles of railway in south-central
Oregon. The projected lines were de-
scribed in Engineering News-Record
Oct. 16, 1924, p. 635 and Jan. 15, 1925.
p. 104. The Oregon Public Service
Commission contends that the new lines
are badly needed and that the Inter-
state Commerce Commission has
authority to require their construction.
On the other hand, attorneys for the
railroad claim that the construction of
the lines would be costly, that the
traffic to be obtained would not warrant
their construction, and that the Union
Pacific, which would have to bear the
brunt of the work, is not in a position
- undertake such extensive construc-
ion.
At the same time this hearing was in
progress an application was filed with
the Interstate Commerce Commission
by the Oregon, California & Eastern
Railroad Co. for authority to construct
two lines totaling 140 miles in the
southern part of the territory in ques-
tion. The proposed lines of the O., C.
& E. R.R. do not appear to be included
in the new lines requested by the state
of Oregon.
Four Major Traffic Ways Advised
for Kansas City, Mo.
The City Plan Commission of Kan-
sas City, Mo., has recommended to the
Board of Public Works that four main
traffic ways be provided in that city,
largely by widening existing streets to
80 ft. or 100 ft. One of the four im-
provements would be six and one-eighth
miles in le
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April 16, 1925
ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD 667
Pan-American Road Conference
Postponed Until Fall
The Pan-American Highway Con-
ference which was to have opened in
Buenos Aires May 22, will be held in-
stead in October. Oct. 3-13 are the new
dates fixed. The postponement was
made necessary because of the in-
ability of several of the countries to be
ready to participate this spring.
The personnel of the commission
which will represent the United States
has been announced at the White
House as follows: J. Walter Drake, As-
sistant Secretary of Commerce, Chair-
man; Charles M. Babcock, Commissioner
of Highways for Minnesota; F. L.
Bishop, Dean of the School of Engineer-
ing University of Pittsburgh; Thomas H.
MacDonald, Chief of the Bureau of Pub-
lic Roads; Frank Page, Chairman of the
State Highway Commission of North
Carolina; Dr. G. A. Sherwell, Secy. of
the United States Section of the Inter-
American High Commission; Represen-
tative William E. Hull, of Illinois.
An appropriation of $15,000 for the
expenses of the delegates was allowed
in the bill authorizing their appoint-
ment.
Keystone Company Wins Suit for
Philadelphia Subway Contract
By a two to one decision of Common
Pleas Court No. 1 in Philadelphia,
given on April 8, the opinion handed
down on March 31 by Judge McDevitt
was reversed and the taxpayer’s suit
to prevent award of the contract for a
portion of the Broad St. subway to the
Keystone State Construction Co., at a
contract price $113,000 in excess of
that of the low bidder, was dismissed.
Counsel for the taxpayer and the low
bidder immediately took an appeal to
the Supreme Court. The Supreme
Court hearing was fixed for April 15
but no decision has yet been rendered.
The suit was based upon the theory
that the low bidder should be awarded
the contract even though a certified
check covering $300,000 possible force
account work was not included with the
certified check covering the main items,
which totalled in excess of $16,000,000.
The judges of Common Pleas Court
filed three opinions in rendering their
decision. Judge McDevitt held to his
original opinion that the bond had been
a substantial compliance with the law
and the contract should be awarded to
the low bidder. Judge Bartlett main-
tained that the letter of the law must
be strictly adhered to. He declared
that the director of the department had
no power to accept the supplementary
check and that the bid must be rejected.
Judge Taulane concurred with Judge
Bartlett in the opinion that the director
has no discretion in the matter and
that the contract cannot be awarded to
the Brooklyn syndicate, but he pointed
out that because of the substantial loss
to the city involved in the award to
the Keystone company, it is a “ques-
tion of consideration” if all bids should
not be rejected.
Previous features over the contest
for the award of the subway work will
be found in Engineering News-Record
March 26, p. 537 and April 2, p. 573.
x
Engineering Societies
Calendar
Annual Meetings
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL
ENGINEERS, New York City;
Spring Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio,
April 21-24, 1925.
AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY.
New York City; Annual Meeting,
New York City, April 22-24, 1925
AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSO-
CIATION, New York City; An-
nual Convention, Louisville, Ky.,
April 27 to May 2, 1925.
NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION
ASSOCIATION, Boston, Mass
Annual Convention, Chicago, May
12-14, 1925.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF EN-
GINEERS, Chicago, Llll.: Annual
Fla., June
Convention, Orlando,
2-5, 192
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TEST-
ING MATERIALS, Philadelphia,
Pa.;: Annual Meeting, Atlantic
City, N. J., June 22-26, 1925.
SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION
OF ENGINEERING EDUCA
TION, University of Pittsburgh;
oe N. Y., June 17-20,
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Personal Notes
LiguT CoL. CLARENCE O. SHERRILL,
chief military aid to the President and
director of the new office of public
buildings and public parks, at Wash-
ington, D. C., has been relieved of the
duties as chief military aid to the
President in order that he may devote
all his time to the work of the new
office. He is also executive officer of
the Arlington Memorial Bridge Com-
mission. |
CoL. SHERWOOD CHENEY, of the U. S.
Army Engineer Corps, and at present
commandant of the Engineer School at
Fort Humphreys, Va., has been ap-
pointed chief military aid to the Presi-
dent, succeeding Lieut. Col. C. O. Sher-
rill. Col. Cheney, a graduate of the
U. S. Military Academy and the Army
War College, has spent his entire mili-
tary life in the Corps of Engineers. He
served in the Spanish-American War,
and after the World War was a tempo-
rary brigadier general for a year. He
holds the distinguished service medal
and the croix de guerre with palms.
CHARLES S. FOREMAN, chief engineer
and superintendent of the Kansas City,
Mo., water department, has tendered
his resignation effective May 1, to be-
come associated with Smith Bros., Inc.,
of Dallas, Texas, which fim constructed
the Missouri Valley and Turkey Creek
tunnels of the new water-works supply
system of Kansas City. Mr. Foreman
entered the service of Kansas City in
its water department in 1901 as a
draftsman, and has advanced to the
head of the department.
PAUL A. VOLCKER, for the past nine
years city engineer at Lebanon, Pa.,
has been appointed city manager of
Cape May, N. J., the first town in New
Jersey to adopt the city manager plan.
Mr. Volcker was formerly with the New
York State Highway Commission.
WALTER V. Buck, of Topeka, Kan.,
former assistant state highway engi-
neer of Kansas, has been appointed
state highway engineer’ succeeding
Capt. L. R. Tillotson. For the past two
years Mr. Buck has been a field engi-
neer for the Portland Cement Associa-
tion, his service as assistant state high-
way engineer being from 1919 to 1922.
Prior to that he had been assistant city
engineer at Manhattan, and at Junction
City, Kan.
Obituary
CHARLES A. HEXAMER, secretary and
treasurer of the Philadelphia Fire Un-
derwriters’ Association, and a member
of the Fire Council of Underwriters’
Laboratories, died at his home in Phila-
delphia March 9 at the age of 73 years.
Mr. Hexamer graduated from New
York University as a civil engineer in
1871. For some years he engaged in
railroad engineering, in the map and
.survey publishing business and in in-
surance, then became secretary of the
Philadelphia Board of Fire Under-
writers and later of the Philadelphia
Fire Underwriters’ Association. He was
vice-president for four years and seven
times president of the National Fire
Protection Association. He was also
chairman of the Committee of Con-
sulting Engineers of the National
Board of Fire Underwriters for a num-
ber of years and a member of the board
of managers of Franklin Institute.
PROFESSOR CHARLES W. LAWRENCE,
head of the engineering department of
the University of Southern California,
died April 1 at his home in Los Angeles,
aged 53 years. Professor Lawrence
was born in Lawrence County, Pennsyl-
vania. He graduated in civil engineer-
ing from Pennsylvania State College
and acted as engineering instructor
there for two years, then was pro-
fessor of civil engineering at James
Milliken University from 1906 until
1909, when he went to the University of
Southern California.
Capt. ALVA H. PERKINS, of the Corps
of Engineers, recently serving at Bos-
ton, died in that city April 8. Captain
Perkins was a graduate of Harvard
University, and had served at Camp
Grant, Fort Humphreys, Camp Custer
and Fort Sam Houston. During the
World War he was with the Engineer
Reserves, took part in the Meuse-
Argonne offensive and other engage-
ments, and won the croix de guerre.
FRANK V. E. BARDOL, contracting en-
gineer, Buffalo, N. Y., died there
April 10, aged 56 years. He was in-
terested in paving, transportation and
ferry enterprises in Buffalo and Canada.
He was a civil engineering graduate of
Cornell University. He was formerly
for some years chief engineer of the
Bureau of Engineering at Buffalo.
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668 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 14
A Point of Contact
Between Maker and User of
Water-Works Manufacturers to
Exhibit at Convention
In addition to the list published in’
this journal April 2, p. 576, the follow-
ing have applied for exhibit space at
the American Water Works convention
Construction Equipment and Materials
to be held April 27-May 2 at Louisville.
National Meter Co.
Canadian Engineers.
National Water Main Cleaning Co.
American Cast Tron Pipe Co.
Giant Manufacturing Co.
(;amon Meter Co.
Wailes Dove-Hermiston Corp,
The Pitometer Co.
Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory.
Sullivan Machinery Co.
Hays Manufacturing Co.
De Lavel Steam Turbine Co,
Edward E. Johnson, Inc.
Layne & Bowler Co.
The Central Foundry Co.
Electro Bleaching Gas Co.
Multiplex Manufacturing Co.
Kc. 1. DuPont de Nemours & Co.
Roberts Filter Manufacturing Co.
East Jersey Pipe Co.
Van Gilder Water Meter Co.
KF. BR. Leopold Co. Ine.
lord Meter Box Co.
Badger Meter Mfg. Co.
Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Co.
Pittsburgh Meter Co.
Federal Meter Co
rnational Filter C oO.
Lead-Hydro-Tite Co
Concrete Road Yardage
For March the yardages included in
concrete pavement contract awards
were, according to reports to the Port-
land Cement Association: 5,771,821 for
roads; 2,575,741 for streets; and 154,318
for alleys; or a total for the month of
8,501,880 sq.yvd.
The accompanying table summarizes
the statistics available to date.
SQUARE YARDS OF CONCRETE PAVEMENT
AWARDED DURING 1925
Tota
Month Rants Streets Alleys All Classes
474,421 963,256 75,236 4,512,913
Feb... .. 787,192 1,201,224 58,723 5,047,139
March.. 5,771,821 2,575,741 154.318 8,501,880
Total. 13,033,434 4,740,221 288,277 18,061,932
Business Notes
‘LEIGH I. HOLDREDGE, for several years
cistrict sales manager for Wallace &
Tiernan in charge of their Philadelphia
office, has joined the sales force of the
Paradon Engineering Co., Long Island
City, N. Y., manufacturer of chlorina-
tors. Mr. Holdredge will have charge
of sales in the New England states and
in the states of New York and New
Jersey.
CHICAGO BriIDGE & IRON WORKS,
through its New York office, has se-
cured the contract for furnishing all
of the steel tankage in connection with
the construction of the 300-mile pipe
line for the Andian National Corpora-
tion, Ltd., Colombia. The contract in-
cludes furnishing the tankage for the
terminal station at Cartagena on the
Caribbean Sea, together with the pump-
ing station storage at the intermediate
terminals on the Magdalena River. The
pipe line will reach the producing prop-
erties of the International Petroleum
Co. and will have a daily capacity of
25,000 bbl. Approximately 4,000 tons
of plate work are involved. This is
the largest export contract of this
nature which has been let in some
time.
L. C. BULLINGTON, formerly assistant
manager, power department, Westing-
house Electric and Manufacturing Co..
at East Pittsburgh has been appointed
manager of the Cincinnati district
office of the company, succeeding the
late James A. Brett.
GIBB WELDING MACHINES Co. (suc-
cessor to Gibb Instrument Co.), Bay
City, Mich., manufacturer of electric
welding equipment, announces the ap-
pointment of Welding Service & Sales
Co., Donovan Building, Detroit, T. M.
Butler, manager, as agent in the De-
troit territory for its line of arc, spot
and seam welding machines.
Equipment and Materials
_
Austin Has New Trencher
The latest addition to the trench ex-
cavator line of the Austin Machinery
Corporation, Muskegon, Mich, is the
model No. 42-15 trench machine, which
digs 15 ft. deep and 42 in. wide.
This improved excavator has a rug-
ged frame which is heavier than sup-
plied heretofore. The speed reduction
and machinery reverse gears are housed
and operate in an oil bath. A long belt
drive is used to transmit power be-
tween the reverse gear unit and main
machinery. A _ three-speed transmis-
sion with gears operating in oil pro-
vides three forward feed speeds for
digging by shifting a lever and one
reverse speed to care for the backfeed
operation. The soil conveyor is re-
versible. Time for complete reverse is
about one minute. The conveyor belt
is 30 in. wide and is operated by a
continuous chain drive. The control of
the belt is by independent lever and |},
direction of travel can be changed n-
stantly.
Power is supplied by a 64x8 Ty
City engine developing 60 hp. or a 7) x
engine developing 75 hp.
Changes In Pipe Line Ditcher
The Barber-Greene Co., Aurora, |')..
announces changes in the design of }+.
pipe line ditcher. Originally made 1.
dig a trench 5 ft. 6 in. deep and 9% or
18 in. wide, the redesigned trench»,
will dig an 18-in. trench 7 ft. dec».
The other features such as the vertica|
boom, the discharge conveyor which can
be quickly set by means of a hand
crank to discharge practically any dis-
tance from the trench on either side,
and the compact crawler mounting
have been retained. The crawlers,
however, have been lengthened to 68 in.
and have been widened to 14 in. This
gives a bearing pressure of about 8 lb.
per sq.in. on the crawlers.
Screen for Sewage and Industrial
Wastes Embodies New Features
New features have been incorporated
in the screen for sewage and industrial
‘wastes known as the Jennings-Stein
screen, manufactured by C. A. Jen-
nings, Chicago, Ill. The screen is of
the band type, composed of a series of
articulated screen frames carried by
roller chains running on tracks and
passing over upper and lower sprocket
wheels, the tracks and sprockets being
supported on side trusses.
The important new feature is the use
of the portion of the screen passing over
the lower sprocket as effective screen-
ing surface, which eliminates the neces-
sity for pits or depressions in the chan-
nel and enables the flow to continue
straight through the screen without
change in direction of channel.
Each screen section is provided with
| | 1
From the Manufacturer's Point of View | |
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April 16, 1925
ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD 669
, horizontal apron along its lower edge,
lapping over a curved wearing surface
on the following section so as to close
any passage between adjacent screen
sections at all times. The screen is
cleaned by air jets from a pipe within
Positive (o
blower.-*
Float switch
t Bottom seal
the periphery of the upper sprocket.
The entire screen, with motor drive and
blower, is self-contained and mounted
on trunnions so that it can be tilted up
for inspection and repair. Details are
shown in the accompanying drawing.
The screen can be used either as a
fine screen for the partial or complete
treatment of sewage, or as a prelim-
inary screen to remove coarse solid and
floating matter prior to treatment in
grit chambers, tanks, or by the activ-
ated-sludge process. As a fine screen a
10 to 20-mesh screen of bronze or
monel metal is used, while as a coarse
screen a 4-in. mesh of heavy gage gal-
vanized wire is employed. Other sizes
can be furnished if required.
Double-Acting Trench
Force Pump
For use under conditions where the
regular diaphragm pump cannot be em-
ployed the Domestic Engine & Pump
Co., Shippensburg, Pa., has manufac-
tured a double-acting, trench force
pump. To cite an example the new
Packing gland :
Stuffing Pack
unit may be used when the discharge
must be pumped to a_ considerable
height above the pump causing a
pressure in the discharge line which
could cause frequent rupture of a rub-
ber diaphragm. Instead of the dia-
phragm a solid bronze plunger recip-
rocates in the pump cylinder which is
packed by ordinary hycraulic packing.
The construction of the pump, allow-
ing the direct flow of material across
the lower end of the pump cylinder,
makes possible the handling of water
containing a very large percentage of
sand or other foreign matter without
danger of this material “building up”
in the pump chamber.
Two different units are offered. One
has the pump directly geared to a
single-cylinder 4-hp. engine. This unit
has a displacement capacity of 105
gal. per minute. The other unit has a
5 to 8 hp. two-cylinder engine unit
directly geared to the pump so as to
give a pumping displacement of 150
gal. per minute.
Accurate Proportioning Device
for Water Treatment Chemicals
International Filter Co., Chicago,
has perfected the so-called Interna-
tional Head Chamber, the applications
of which are manifold, but which is
principally used for the proportioning
of chemicals in water-softening or
filtration plants.
The head chamber is illustrated here-
with in its simplest form. It consists
of a diaphragm mechanism A actuated
by venturi, a lever B connected to the
diaphragm plate and also to a para-
bolic float C riding in a float chamber
|
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of
D of similar design, as well as to a
plug valve E as shown, an operating
float F' riding in a cylindrical float
chamber G, the cylindrical float cham-
ber having an open connection H with
the parabolic float chamber D. The
plug valve riser J has a constant water
supply connection J and a drain con-
nection K. The head chamber may be
connected to any venturi tube.
The differential pressure from the
venturi is received by the diaphragm
in chamber A, and is immediately
transmitted by lever B to plug valve
E, which it shuts. The water then
rises in both float chambers G and D
equally, and when the water in cham-
ber D rises to a sufficient height, the
buoyancy of float C causes plug valve
E to open. This point is where the
differential pressure is balanced by the
buoyancy of the float for a certain
elevation of water in chamber D. This
establishes equilibrium as long as the
flow of water through the venturi
tube is constant. The operating float
F is then at a certain height above its
zero position corresponding to the flow
of water through the venturi tube.
The rod fixed to float F is connected to
whatever mechanical device it is de-
— to operate in proportion to the
ow.
When the flow of water changes,
the differential changes as the square
of the variation in flow. The design
of the parabolic float is such that its
buoyancy is proportional to the square
of the height of water in the float
chamber, thus automatically extracting
the square root of the differential pres-
sure and transmitting to the operating
float F a movement in direct proportion
to the flow of water through the venturi.
The only consumption of power for
the device is hydraulic—that is, the
constant water supply, for which there
is required a maximum of only 25 gal.
per hour.
Industrial Engine of 10-Hp.
Maximum Capacity
A comparatively small industrial en-
gine having the desirable characteris-
tics of a four-cylinder engine has been
placed on the market by the Universal
Motor Co., Oshkosh, Wis. The “Flexi-
four,” so called because of its steady,
flexible performance, was designed and
built with the idea of making it par-
ticularly adaptable to industrial uses,
and provision has been made to pro-
vide various equipment, such as differ-
ent types of bases, radiator and fan-
cooling system, disk clutch and reduc-
tion drive which adapts the engine to
practically any kind of industrial work
coming within its capacity. Equipment
which it may drive includes: concrete
mixers, road-finishing machines, cen-
trifugal pumps, pressure pumps, hoists,
back fillers, etc., and machinery requir-
ing not more than 10 hp.
Standard equipment consists of
Bosch magneto ignition, built in, flyball
type self-oiling governor, Zenith car-
buretor, muffler, and flywheel.
Two New Types of Paving
Breakers
Two new types of pneumatic paving
breakers have recently been put on the
market by the Cleveland Rock Drill Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio. Model 44CB is a light-
weight machine, weighing 48 lb., and is
best suited to such work as trimming
down the sidewalls of tunnels, trenches
and like excavations. Model C4, weigh-
ing 64 Ib., finds its greatest effective-
we
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670 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD
Vol. 94, No. 15
ness in tearing down old foundations or
walls, in loosening frozen or gravelly
ground, and in breaking up brick, stone,
asphalt or any other pavement.
Each of the models is fitted with an
automatic valve, through the high effi-
ciency of which is obtained a powerful
hammer blow and consequently rapid
cutting. At the same time the air con-
sumption and vibration are reduced to a
minimum.
The hand grips are of large size,
comfortably fitting the hand, and are
made of soft rubber, tending to lessen
the fatigue of the operator and con-
sequently insure a bigger day's work.
Small-Capacity Chlorinator Has
Thermostatic Control
simplified, small-capacity chlori-
nator, designed particularly for small
water-works and sewage plants or
swimming pools,
and known as the
thermostatically-
controlled Type T
unit, has been
veloped by The
Paradon Engineer-
ing Co., Long Is-
land City, N. Y.,
for use under con-
ditions where ex-
pert attendance is
not generally ob-
tainable and oper-
ating funds are
limited.
The chlorinator
consists of a white
vitrified enamelled
pedestal having a
compartment
which holds a
small cylinder of
| chlorine, generally
of about 12 Ib. ca-
pacity. A_ silver
control valve regu-
lates the flow of
chlorine from this cylinder. A_ volu-
metric type measuring meter, enclosed
ina glass cylinder, indicates the amount
of chlorine flowing. An injector oper-
ated by an auxiliary water supply
draws the chlorine from the _ glass
cylinder and carries it to the point of
application. Part of the water flowing
through the injector is bypassed and
forms a water-jacket around the out-
side of the chlorine cylinder, keeping
the latter at a constant temperature.
The flow of chlorine, therefore, remains
constant for any one setting of the sil-
ver control valve.
The advantages claimed for this
machine are, first, that it is made out
of material that will not corrode even
in the presence of moist chlorine.
Second, controlling the temperature of
the chlorine cylinder by a water-jacket
eliminates the necessity of a compen-
sating reducing valve, lowering the cost
of the apparatus and adding to its
simplicity. Third, the chlorinator and
chlorine cylinder are in one unit, self-
contained and compact.
This apparatus will handle capacities
up to approximately 2 Ib. of chlorine
per 24 hr. Water under a pressure of
at least 20 lb. per square inch is neces-
sary to operate the apparatus. This
type chlorinator will take care of the
swimming pool up to 100,000 gal. ca-
pacity, the average small sewage plant
up to capacities of 50,000 gal. per 24
hr. and water supplies up to 100,000
gallons per 24 hr.
Pump Installations for Service
and Standby Water Supply
The value of industrial gasoline en-
gines as stand-by units in water-works
plants is illustrated by the experience
of the city of West Chicago, Ill. This
city had two 12-in. wells, one serving a
standpipe and the other a_ concrete
reservoir. The job of installing suffi-
cient pumping machinery to make the
station entirely automatically operated
was given to the American Well Works,
Aurora, Ill. This was done by install-
ing on one well an automatically op-
erated turbine-driven unit, the other
well being made a stand-by unit driven
by a Novo 18-hp., model AF engine,
manufactured by the Novo Engine Co.,
Lansing, Mich. If one pump goes down
or if the power is off, water can be
pumped from the other well. Two Do-
mestic service driven pumps deliver
water at the rate of 325 gal. per minute
from the reservoir to the standpipe.
One unit only is used at a time and
the other automatically cuts in if the
pressure reaches a low level. The
pumps can be reversed in their opera-
tion by a transfer switch. In conjunc-
tion with these two units there is a
1,000-gal. fire pump operated by both
motor and gas engines. This pump will
deliver water into the mains if the two
service pumps are out and will also de-
liver water should the power be off.
It is reported that the station is in
perfect running order and that al]
stand-by equipment can be started at a
moment’s notice.
Guided Bucket-Boom for
Trench Backfiller
An attachment of interest to water-
works men who have charge of the
installation of water lines is announced
by the Parsons Co., Newton, lowa. The
attachment is for the Model 20 Back-
filler and is called the Guided Bucket
Boom. !t consists of a 21-ft. boom with
a guided scraper operating on the boom
similar in action to a skimmer scoop.
This attachment is used for backfilling
trenches where the spoil bank lies be-
tween the trench and the backfiller. In
order to backfill the spoil bank on the
opposite side of the trench from the
backfiller it is only necessary to reverse
the position of the scraper on the car-
riage. Heretofore no backfiller has
been designed to work on the spoil bank
side of the trench.
Double-Suction Pump Designed to
Neutralize End Thrust
A means of automatically neutraliz-
ing end thrust in double-suction cen-
trifugal pumps has been developed by
the Earle Gear & Machine Co., Phila-
delphia. End thrust or unbalanced
pressure on the sides of the impeller
springs form the impossibility of get-
ting absolutely accurate castings for
the pump casing or the impeller. Very
small variations in the shape, smooth-
ness or size of the casing or impelle”
water spaces, therefore, cause diffe,.
ences of pressure on the sides of the
impeller.
The unbalanced end thrust is eli).
nated, it is claimed, in the Earle Ty¢
“B” DSV pump, because if the thri«:
is toward the reader’s right the radia!
seat at B will tend to close, while the
radial seat at A is opened, building wp
a pressure on the total area of the rip}:
side of the impeller. While this j.
occurring the radial seat at C ha
closed, and that at D has opened, plac.
ing a suction or reduced pressure on
the area of the side of the impeller
from C to the shaft. Hence the area
on the right side of the impeller sub-
ject to high pressure is greater than
the area of the left side of the impeller
from C to the shaft, the pump rotor
will tend to move slightly to the left
until it reaches a point at which the
total pressure will be the same on both
sides of the impeller, and true hydraulic
balance is obtained. The opposite cycle
of events takes place if the origina!
thrust tends to be toward the reader's
left.
Due to this hydraulic balance, no
thrust bearing or collars are required,
but since any device must ultimately
wear out and being inside the case
where wear is not visible, small fixed
collars are placed on the shaft, set at
a distance from the face of the bearing
bushing, which will not become opera-
tive until the limit of allowable wear
has occurred within the case, at which
time the engagement of the collars and
bearings becomes a visible indication
of replacement of wearing parts within
the pump.
Publications from the
Construction Industry
Water Meters — PITTsBURGH METER
Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.,in the April num-
ber of the Water-Works Journal, a
quarterly publication issued by the
company, carries the reader through
24 pages of pictures and description
of how water and gas meters are made.
It gives a comprehensive idea of the
care and precision taken in their man-
ufacture.
Synchronous Motors for Pumping—
ELECTRIC MACHINERY MANUFACTURING
Co., Minneapolis, Minn., in a _ 16-p.
bulletin, emphasizes the advantages of
motor-driven centrifugal pumps over
steam-driven pumps municipal
water-works service. Other uses are
in deep well pumping, irrigation pump-
ing, drainage pumping, dry dock pump-
ing, sewage pumping, mine pumping
and suction dredging.
~
April 16, 1925 ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD 671
Business Side of Construction
FACTS AND EVENTS THAT AFFECT COST AND VOLUME
Steel Demand Slowing Down
Despite the fact that the steel ingot
output for the first quarter of this year
was about 470,000 tons greater than
that for the corresponding period last
vear, the present rate of mill operations
is slightly under that obtaining in the
first month of the first quarter of 1925.
STEEL INGOT OUTPUT—AM. I. & S. INST.
1925 1924
Tons Tons
4,180,413 3,633,639
3,740,004 3,809,185
First 12,100,750 11,630,766
Unfilled orders on books of the U. S.
Steel Corporation, Mar. 31, 1925, were
421,207 tons under those on hand Feb.
28, 1925. This is the first drop in un-
filled tonnage since July 31, 1924.
UNFILLED ORDERS ON BOOKS
U. 8. STEEL CORPORATION
1925 1924
Tons Tond
Jan, 31, 1925. 5,037,323 Jan. 31, 1924.. 4,798,429
Feb, 28,1925. 5,284,771 Feb. 29, 1924. 4,912,901
Mar. 31, 1925 4,863,564 Mar. 31, 1924. 4,782,807
The drop in production is commen-
surate with the decrease in demand.
This Week’s Contracts—Week
Ago—Same Week Last Year |
The money value of contracts
reported in the present issue of.
Engineering News-Record is here
compared with the figures for cor-
responding weeks.
| Minimum costs observed are:
$15,000 for waterworks and excava-
tions, $25,000 for other public
works, $40,000 for industrial and
$150,000 for commercial buildings.
MONEY VALUE OF CONTRALTS LET— |
ENTIRE U.S. |
Week Publie Private Total
Ending Work Work Contracts
Apr. 778 000 $21,051,000 $31,829 000
Apr. 9 20,896,000 27,5 22000 48,418,000
Apr.1?, 1994 28.549, 000 22,293,000 50,842,000
Heaviest Week
Last Year
May 8, 1924 26,370,000 38,829,000 65,199,000
This Year |
Apr. 2,1925 43,603,000 27,633,000 71,236,008)
Jan.
1925. ... 255,796,000 368,788,000 624 584 000
1924.... 254,104,000 351,412,000 605,516,000.
Public Bond Sales Gained Heavily
in March
March disposals aggregated $109,-
080,606 according to the Commercial
and Financial Chronicle. This figure
shows a large increase over the total
for the previous month, which was
$79,133,861 and also over the total for
March 1924, which reached $100,331,302
The bond sales during the first quar-
ter of 1925 total $316,186,189 which
is the largest first quarter total re-
corded,
The State of Pennsylvania led last
month with an issue of $20,000,000 4’s
for highway work. Illinois placed
$1,650,000 4’s and Oregon $1,000,000
4}’s.
Chicago placed the largest municipal
award—$6,825,000 4’s. Other large
placings follow: Cleveland City School
District, $4,800,000 4}3’s; Philadelphia
School District, $3,000,000 4’s; Mil-
waukee County, $2,670,000 5}’s.
The rates in the following table
ranged from 4 to 6 per cent. Three
placings were below par, two at par, the
remainder called for a premium.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLIC BOND SALES, MARCH, 1925
| Rate per Soid 7
State Purpose Amount Cent For Basis Dated Maturity Purchased By
Harbor Impvt $900,000 4} _ Ward, Sterne & Co.
Funding ond Bldg. Impvt. 963,500 4} 100.63 4.18 April | 1926 45 Childs Bond & Mortgage Co. and others
1,650,000 4 99 07 4.08 Aug. 1944 National City Co.
Pennsylvania.....+.....+. Highway 20,000,000 7 101.8078 3.8715 April | 1930-52 National City Co. and others
County
po ES aa Road 5,200 4} 101.02 4.27 Mar. 15 1926-35 A. P. Flynn
Drainage 16,500 6 May | 1-20 yrs. Bank of Ripley
Barry, 7 BE ae Buildi 10,000 54 100. 87 5.49 May |! 1929-44 Little & Moore
Court 0,000 6 102 50 5.80 Feb. 1926-65 Geo. L. Simpson & Co.
Blue Barth, Minn. Ro 15,825 4} 101.51 (| Manhete é Trust Co.
Highway 41,500 4} 101.20 4.06 Mar. 14 1926-30 J. F. Wild &C
Roads 150,000 4} 100.75 ...... Jan. 1926-45 Guarantee Title & Trust Co.
ce Road and Bridge 75,000 5} Mar. 1945-59 Ryan, Sutherland & Co.
cnc ecaeesestFavecdcece 00,000 5 106 33 4.50 May |! 1942-46 Weil, Roth & Irving Co.
Sewer 530,000 4} 00 95 4.35 April | 1926-38 Otis & Co.
Cuyahoga, O............. Road 159,443 { 102-89 4-45) “Mar. 1 1926-35 Provident Savings Bank & Trust Co.
Columbia, N. Y........... Highway & Co. Home 67,000 4} 106.232 4.06 Mar. | 1925-47 Geo. Gibbons & Co.
a EE ae Road 28,000 4} 102 4.09 Mar. 15 1926-35 Mevyer-Kiser Bank of Indianapolis
Freeborn, Minn........... Highway 18,177 4 101.65 411 Jan. 1 1936-45 Wells-Dickey Co.
Highway 800,000 4 101.033 4.13 Mar. | 1929-36 Citizens Nat. Bank
Ol Ea Road Impv 82,400 102. 18 4.58 Mar. | 1926-34 A. T. Bell & Co.
| ARGS’ a Road and B Bridge 20,000 5 102 73 4.79 Mar. | 1935-54 Drake, Jones & Co.
Highland, O.............. Road Impvt. 11,300 5} 102. 82 4.83 April | 1926-33 Provident Savings Bank & Trust Co.
Howard, Ind............. Roads 15,710 4:73) Feb. 15 1926-35 J. F. Wild & Co. and others
Iredell, N. C.............. Road and Bridge 1,000,000 4? 101.169 4.69 April 1 1929-50 Guaranty Co. and others
Roads 125,000 42344} 100.46. ...... April | Lumbermen’s Trust Co.
Highway 175,000 5 106 36 June | 1936-37 Second Ward Securities Co.
Township
Storm Sewers 17,000 101 4.80 April 1926-36 The First National Bank
Washington, Iowa........ School Building 9,000 - renee ee seccce pril | 1928-35 Geo. M. Bechtel & Co.
Municipal
} 103.836 4.37 April | 1926-55 Harris & Oatis, and others
At detbbeecsc: Boulevard 1, 100,000 103.151 4.20 Mar. |! 1927-55 Equitable Trust Co. and others
Ashland, BS ae Building 200,000 102. 50 4.37 June | 1962-65 J.C. Mayer & Co.
Bayville, N. Y............ Water System 122,500 4} 100.197 4.22 Mar. | 1930-64 Ovyster Bay Bank
Belle Plain, Kan.......... Improvement. 6,500 4} 100 3 Jan. 1 1926-35 State ‘uditor of Kan.
‘ater 24,000 100 Mar | 1945 Childs Bond & Mortgage Co.
Burlington, lowa......... Fire Station 4,900 dade - Hanna-Shreves Co.
Boise City, Ida........... Station Approaches 115,000 3 100. 26 4.47 Feb. 1 1945 Palmer Bond & Mortgage Co.
Bessemer City, N. C....... Sewer 20,000 Feb. 192847 Carolina Securities Co.
Cheektowaga, N. Y....... { Mar. 1 1926-45 Fidelity Trust Co.
CUR Street Impvt. 6,825,000 99.2191 4.10 Jen. 1 1927-44 National (ity Co.
Giddings, Tex............ } 107.50) 5.43 Mar. 15 1926-65 J. T. Bowman
Jackson, Mich............ Public Impvt. 524,500 101.01 4.18 April | 1926-54 Northern Truet Co. and others
Manatee, Sewer Water 142,000 5 Feb. 2 1935-55 Braun, Bosworth & Co.
Public Impvt. Mes 1926-35 Geo Bure & Co. and others
ater 6 Mar uron Co an
5 105. 4.47 Mar. | 1925-49 Stranahan, Harris & Oatis, Inc.
Ww 25,000 6 | Jan. 20 1927-65 J. L. Arlitt of Austin
|
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ENGINEERING
NEWS-RECORD Vol. 94, No. i¢
Weekly Construction Market
HE fact that contract letting (money value) from
Jan. 1 to Apr. 16, inclusive, was 3 per cent ahead of
the corresponding period last year, strengthens belief
in the improbability of any notable rise or fall in cost
of construction in the very near future.
The combined elements of construction cost, namely,
labor and materials, point toward at least temporary
stability.
This condition has evidently brought out a certain
amount of construction. that was being held back
because of cost uncertainties.
Materials stocks at mills and warehouses are plenti-
ful but not too heavy.
Production schedules are tending toward curtailment
in order to prevent price declines which normally result
from oversupply.
There, are remarkably few wage disputes awaiting
settlement at this time, especially in the building
trades. Continuation of approximately the same wage
schedules as are now in force, seems probable for at
least the remainder of the current quarter.
A truce has been reached in the controversy which
recently existed between bricklayers and plasterers iy
New York City. The trouble arose over alleged vio!.-
tion of jurisdictional rights and for a time seriously
hindered about $22,000,000 worth of construction on
various projects of the Thompson-Starrett Co.
An agreement has also been reached in the strike of
steamfitters and helpers which recently occurred in
Pittsburgh. The former gained an advance of 50c. per
day from March 1 to Dec. 1, 1925, at which time an
additional 50c. per day is to be granted. This contract
will hold until March 1, 1927. Helpers received an
advance of 20c. per day.
Of twenty-one cities reporting regularly to Engineer-
ing News-Record, only two, Cleveland and Denver,
report any wage disputes pending. In the former,
demands are being put forth by the glaziers and in the
latter, by painters, carpenters, sheet-metal workers and
electricians,
In Chicago, the wage schedule for marble setters,
ornamental iron workers, carpenters and hoisting engi-
neers has been increased to $1.373 per hr., against the
former rate of $1.25.
New York Atlanta Dallas
Chicago Minneapolis Denver San Francisco Seattle Montreal
Steel Products
Structural shapes, 100 Ib | $3.90 $4.15
Structural rivets, 100 Ib 3 4.45 4.75
Reinforcing bars, ? in. up, 100 Ib.. 3.40 3.38
Steel pipe, black, 34 to 6 in. lap,
53.2% 43%
discount... 48%
Cast-iron pipe, 6 in. and over, ton 52.60@ 53.60 56.00 +56 00 +46 76@48 .20 55.50
$3.10 $3.35 $3 .074 $3 .30 $3 .35 $4.25
3.50 3.75 4. 5.00 +3.75 6.00
3 .0U 3.25 3.874 3.35 3.25 2.30
564% 54.25% 36% 44.7@55.5% 5 59.49
Concreting Material
Cement without bags, bbl......... 2.50@2
Gravel, 2 in., cu.yd 1.75
Sand, cu.yd
Crushed stone, } in., cu.yd
Miscellaneous
Pine, 3x12 to 12x12, 20 ft. and
under, M.f 61.00 56.00
Lime, finishing, hydrated, ton..... 18 20 20 .00
Lime, common, lump, per bbl... 2 50@2.75 1.85
Common brick, delivered, 1,000... . 17.00 10. 12 10
Hollow building tile, 4x12x12, per
.0808 .0941
Hollow partition tile 4x12x12, per
.1162 0808 .0941
Linseed oil, raw, 5 bbl. lots, gal.... 1.09 17 —1.30
29 .00@39.00 39.75 34.75
20 00 25.50 24.00
—1.21 1.35 2.70
12.00 +13.50@13.60 12.00 ; 14.50 17.50
+ .065 .07 .085
—9.50
+ 065 .085
1.22 1.18 1.28
Common Labor
Common labor, union, hour ;
Common labor, non-union, hour... 25 30@ 50
55
87}
75 50@.55 35@.50 50
Explanation of Prices—Prices are to con-
tractors in carload lots unless other quan-
tities are specified. Increases or decreases
from previous quotations are indicated by current prices
+ or — signs. For steel pipe, the pre- construction materials, and of noting
Dallas quotes lime per 180-lb. bbl. Steel,
HIS limited price list is published cement, cast-iron pipe and crushed stone
weekly for P sh purpose ~ giving f.o.b. cars, other materials delivered.
on the principal San Francisco quotes on Heath tile, size
vailing discount from list price is_ gi.en; important price changes on the less 58 x 8 x 114. Prices are all f.o.b. ware-
45-5° means a discount of 45 and 6 per important materials.
cent. the chief cities are quoted.
Valuable suggestions on costs
New York quotations delivered, except wesk enn bo hed be
sand, gravel and crushed stone, alongside
dock; common lump lime, in 280-lb. bbl.
net, and hydrated lime f.o.b. cars; tile “on
trucks”; linseed oil and cast-iron pipe f.o.b.
Labor—Concrete laborers’ rate, 93§c.;
building laborers, 75c.; excavating laborers,
News section.
Chicago quotes hydrated lime in 50-Ib. next on May 7.
bags; common lump lime per 186-lb. net,
dings as reported in our Construction
houses except C. I. pipe, which is mill price
plus freight to railway depot at any ter-
of minal. Common lump lime per 180-lb. net.
Lumber prices are to dealers in yards at
San Francisco, for No. i fir, common.
Seattle quotes on Douglas fir (delivered)
Moreover, only
noting actual bid-
u
The first issue of each month car instead of pine. Lump finishing lime per
180-lb. net. Brick and hollow building tile
50c. per hr tant cities. The last complete list will
wheats ; be found in the issue of April 2, the
delivered. Hydrated lime in paper sacks.
Sand and gravel at bunkers.
Montreal quotes on pine lumber. Sand
stone, gravel and lump lime per ton.
Lumber, sand, gravel and stone delivered Denver quotes on fir instead of pine. Stone, lime and tile are delivered;
on job. Cement “on tracks”: gravel and sand at sand, gravel and cement on siding; brick
Minneapolis quotes on fir instead of pine. pit; stone on cars; lime, brick, hollow tile f.o.b. plant; steel and pipe at warehouse.
: , rered. Ce- and lumber on job. Tile price is at ware-
delivered’ in wooden Canadian funds (the Canadian dollar stands
ment on cars. Gravel and crushed stone house. Linseed oil,
Hollow tile per ft. ement price is in
quoted at pit. We quote on brown lime bbl. Common lump lime per 180-lb. net. at 99.93). Bag charge is 80c. per bbl.
xr 180-lb. net: white is $1.70 for Kelly
Atlanta quotes sand, stone and gravel Discount of 10c. per bbl. for payment within
sland and $1.60 for Sheboygan. Common er ton instead of cu.yd. Common lump 20 days from date of shipment, Steel pipe
labor not organized. ime per 180-lb. net.
per 100 ft. net; 3$-in., $59.49.
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